Promise of a Lifetime (Revised)
by DoctorChurchie
Summary: A story that follows the journey of Jonah Turner. A young girl whose entire life is changed the night that she meets two interesting priests. As new opportunities present themselves before her, she need only remember that not everything is what it seems.
1. A Waking Dream

Chapter 1: A Waking Dream

I silently watched from my bed as the sun sank below the horizon line, and the twin moons slowly began to take its place up in the night sky. Only a few clouds hung amongst the stars and the moons, and I inhaled deeply as a cool breeze wafted the pure night time air in through my opened window. Yet as the breeze touched the exposed skin on both of my arms, I couldn't help but to shiver.

This was an average night for me. Sitting and waiting the countless number of seconds for daylight to fade away. Leaving only enough room for the darkness to pervade the Earth. I was witnessing the birth of of a world that belonged to the dead, and the dead alone.

So closing my eyes, I tried to fall asleep. Tried to enter into the realm of endless reels of film that were my dreams. The only place where I felt safe about truly being myself, without the fear of others judging me. The only place where everything was real, and absolutely nothing could go wrong.

My perfect utopia.

As my mind began to playback this beautiful vision, I silently thought to myself through a sleepy fog that was quickly ramping up in intensity, _"If only I could lie and dream like this forever...Maybe then life for me might actually become interesting...Maybe..."_ My inner voice fell away to nothing more than a mere buzz as I fully submerged into my dreams.

However many hours had passed since I had fallen victim to my need to sleep, I had absolutely no clue, but as for the cause of my waking, that I was certain about.

Somewhere in one of the rooms just a floor below me, there had been a loud crash. I heard no voices, but I was the only person home, so the first conclusion that my mind decided on was that burglars had just busted down the front door.

Slowly, so as not to make a sound, I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and carefully planted my feet on the cool hardwood floor. I began slinking forward, inching my way towards my bedroom door, yet as luck was seemingly never on my side, it was shut tight. I knew that the instant I turned the door knob the intruders would be alerted to my presence, meaning that it'd potentially be the only opportunity I'd be granted to do something...or it'd be game over for sure.

When I was less than a centimeter from brushing the brass handle with my fingertips, I reached out. Extending my fingers so that I could grasp my only means of escape, yet I was forced to stop just as I barely raked the tip of a finger over the door knob's cool exterior. I had heard a man's voice coming from the hallway that led to my room.

"Are you sure that we're at the right location, Tres? To me this looks to be nothing more than your average residential home." The voice sounded kind when it reached my ears, yet I could tell that there was a certain level of authority in the man's tone. There was a brief pause then he continued to speak. "Tres, are you even listening to me? I'm telling you, Cardinal Sforza issued us a very strict mandate. In addition, Sister Kate was kind enough to provide us with an exact locale, not to mention the photographs of our suspects. This might be the right area, but this particular house isn't right...I suggest that we move on and look elsewh-"

All fell silent inside the house, but it was only because I had made the mistake of taking hold of the door knob, and had unknowingly twisted the handle just a fraction of what it took to open the door. With a gasp, I let go and frantically tried to think of a place where I could hide. A place where I hopefully wouldn't be found. Yet no such place existed in my room. The only spot where I could even remotely hope to hide myself from the unnamed man and the one called Tres, was a small corner between my bed and a wall. With that, I hurried to what was my one and only hope, and quickly threw myself into the shadows.

No sooner had I concealed myself from view, the door to my room flew open with so much force that the door knob became embedded in the wall that it collided with. Flecks of drywall and paint hung in the air.

I covered my hand over my mouth, trying so desperately to not scream out in fear.

As the air cleared, the silhouettes of the two men became visible. The first to cross over the threshold and into the room was the taller of the two, while his companion was shorter, yet more burly. The first thing that I noticed, that truly mattered, was that in both hands he firmly held tight to two large hand guns.

Seeing this caused tears to fill my eyes and they gradually started to spill over, each tear falling onto my pale cheeks. I had no hope of surviving, and inside my own thoughts, I pleaded with God. Praying that my dire need of his help and protection would somehow be answered. _"I don't want to die here! Not now! Please...save me! Please...someone...anyone help!"_ I screwed my eyes shut tight as I readied myself for Death's cold embrace.

Then the sound of an uncaring voice confirmed my worst fears, and as I opened my tear filled eyes, I looked at the face of the man who would soon become my killer. "Target located. Preparing to terminate in three...two..."

I took the second that I had left to live to get a glimpse of what the man, who was now holding one of his two guns aimed directly at my forehead, I wanted to see what he looked like up close. His hair was hazel brown, and had been cropped short, his short bangs had been spiked up a little. Emotionless eyes peered down at me, one brown, while the other burned red with the desire to kill. Yet no smile fell upon his lips, as if he were killing just to simply kill. And not because of some unknown duty.

With the final half second, I searched for the face of the taller man, who I found almost immediately. Silver-white hair that had been pulled back with a thin black ribbon, fell nearly to his waist, while his bangs fell freely around either side of his face. Winter blue eyes gazed sadly at me from behind a pair of glasses that were as round as the base of a bottle.

The man named Tres began to pull on the trigger, a single whimper escaped my mouth as I hurried to shut my fearful eyes. I waited to hear the bullet leave the barrel of the gun, only for it to be lodged deep within my skull. Yet instead of hearing the sound of my impending death, I heard the taller man gasp and then cry out, "Tres stop! This girl isn't in any of these photos! She's not one of the vampires!"

"How are we going to be one hundred percent positive that she is not one of the vampires that we were sent to annihilate, Father Nightroad?" Tres asked, his voice remaining mono-toned, masking any notion that he felt anything at all.

Nightroad chuckled and whispered, "Leave that to me." He stepped forward and Tres took a single step to the side, his hands keeping both guns at the ready. When he was in front of me, the tall man knelt down so that his face was level with mine. Then with a sincere smile said, "My name is Father Abel Nightroad, may I ask what your name is?"

"Jonah...Jonah Turner."

Eyes gleaming, Abel repeated my name. "Jonah? What an interesting name for a young girl. Now do you live here all by yourself, Jonah?"

I slowly shook my head from side to side, my lips trembling as I spoke. "N..no. I live he...here with my parents..."

"And where might they be?"

"Vacation..."

Nodding, he looked up at Tres. "I believe her. But since we know that there are vampires active within this area, it makes me think that it's not safe leaving her here. It might be best if we consider taking her with us, least we be the indirect cause of her death."

"Take me...with you?" I asked, my voice just barely above a whisper. "Vampires? Who are you? Why are you he-"

Gently placing a gloved hand on my shoulder, Abel calmly told me, "All will be answered in due time. It's just that right now, well we're all in a small bit of danger."

Stowing one of his guns away, Tres stated in his usual tone. "If that is your desire, Father Nightroad, then we must hurry. A fourth being is now well within the residential perimeter of our current location."

My body stiffened as I heard his words, and I froze even further when Abel jumped to his feet. "Tres, are you sure?" He whispered, his right hand reaching for something hidden beneath his overcoat.

"Positive."

Drawing out an old revolver from a holster he wore under his coat, Abel checked the number of bullets in the chamber of his gun and whispered once more to Tres, "Can you try to hold them off? I'm going to try and get Miss Turner to safety."

"Positive." With that, Tres redrew his second gun and advanced towards the bedroom door, the handle of which was still lodged into the wall.

Offering me his hand, Abel rushed out his words, "Is there any other exit? Besides the windows in this room?"

"No...my room's the only one of the second floor." I took his hand, and was hoisted to my feet as easily as if I weighed no more than a pound. "The only other exits are the front and back doors."

"Damn..." He cast a quick glance around the room, searching for something unknown to me. Then finally he asked, "Do you have anything I could possibly use to craft a makeshift rope?"

Sadly once again, I shook my head. "My clothes and the sheets from my bed, but that's pretty much it. Do we really have the time to do all of that? Besides, it's not that far of a fall..." I quietly walked over to my opened window and peering out of it looked down at the ground. It had to be at least a twenty foot drop.

Behind me, Abel groaned, "I really hate this job sometimes. Hop onto my back."

Looking at him, I saw that he was now kneeling down on one of his knees, the palms of his hands pressed firmly to the wood flooring beneath him. "I can do it on my own. Besides, I'm heavier than I look. Also I don't want to be a burden to you. I'll be all right." Wrapping my fingers around the wooden frame of the window, I prepared to jump, hoping that the fall wouldn't be enough to break any bones. I took in enough air to fill both of my lungs, then I slowly exhaled, my mind trying to gather all of the courage I'd need to just jump without considering any of the consequences. "Well, here goes nothing..." About to spring forward, like a frog leaping from one lily pad to the next, I began to step up onto the window's ledge but was forced to stop when I felt a firm hand grip my shoulder.

Looking back, I saw that it was Abel and he was wearing a deep set frown. "What makes you think that you're a burden to me?"

"You said that you sometimes hate your job. And well, if you think about it, I'm just an inconvenient road block in your mission. Slowing you down, so that it'll take you that much longer to reach your goal...or at the very least, that's how I see it." I began to make my second attempt to jump, but was held back once again.

"You misunderstood me. I'd gladly help get you to a safe haven, but the route to get to safety is hardly ever the easy one. And if you were to look at our situation from my perspective you'd see that it's clearly the very least that I could do for you. Since it was Father Tres and myself who drew the vampires here in the first place." His expression became one of pleading as precious seconds ticked away, and gradually I relinquished my hold on the window frame. As Abel helped me back to my feet he whispered, "Thank you. Now if you'd allow me assist you once more, we will both be free from the danger that slowly surrounds us." He resumed his previous action of kneeling down on one knee, a smile falling upon his lips once more.

I was about to protest some more, but rushed towards the kind man in front of me when I heard the rapid sound of gun fire coming from the first floor.

"So they really are here...Jonah, we need to hurry!" Picking me up, Abel swung me so that I was resting on his back, he hooked his hands together under my legs to further support my weight. He hurried over to the window and began to maneuver his tall body through the window's frame, a task that I'd had some trouble with and I had to be at least a foot shorter than the unusual priest. Yet he was able to fit through the small space, with little to no effort at all.

The sudden exposure to the cool air on my face and arms caused shivers that were strong enough to cause my entire body to tremble.

Noticing my shaking limbs, Abel gasped and whispered back to me, "We'll be somewhere warm in no time, Jonah. Don't worry."

I silently responded, and began to nestle my face into the soft fabric of his overcoat that covered his back, the subtle scent of his cologne filled my nose. A few seconds later I heard him clear his throat and sounding embarrassed muttered, "Yes...well..." About to giggle, I suddenly felt a tugging sensation move through my body, and looking back, I saw a man sneering at me.

"Peek-a-boo!" When the man spoke, as his lips parted, I noticed that the tip of each tooth he had was razor sharp.

A small scream erupted from me, and hearing both it and the vampire, Abel spun around making it so that we were now facing the opposite direction than we originally had, and with a quick glance he recited from memory. "Andros Nakomi. Wanted for over one hundred counts of murder in the city of Venice alone. One can only begin to surmise the total tally of victims you've actually claimed if they knew the full range of land that you've covered in the past ten months."

Unblinking, Andros snorted. "I lost count after five hundred seventy five. This girl though..." He examined me with his piercing crimson eyes. "This girl will be a real treat to feast upon. After all, it's not everyday that I get the chance to win a meal from you Vatican dogs!" He turned his gaze upon Abel, "So what do you say to simply handing her over to me now, and in exchange, I will spare you a few extra hours of living on the brink of a painful death. Because if you choose to cooperate with me, I promise to make it so you feel nothing when I kill you. How does that sound to you, Priest?"

"Tempting. But I'm afraid that I can't do that. I promised this girl that I'd get her to safety, and I never go back on my word. Not even if Death itself were to stare me down."

The vampire shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "So be it. But when I'm draining you of every pint of blood that's in that frail body of yours, just know that you will feel every second of it, and you'll be wishing that you had just handed her over to me when I'd asked you to. And trust me, that when you die, it will be slow and very painful."

Abel grinned, and held onto me tighter. "I'd really love to see you try."


	2. Tormented Mask

Chapter 2: Tormented Mask

From where I was, I cautiously glanced over Abel's shoulder and watched as he confidently challenged the vampire, Andros, to a battle of strength. All so that he could potentially protect me, but if he lost in that battle, he would die right along side me. So quietly I whispered, "Father, it won't do anyone any good if you go and get yourself killed. Risking your own life, just to have a hope of saving me, it's...it's not right." Closing my eyes, I smiled. "There are others out there who need your help far more than I do. I can accept my fate. I really can. But I can't accept the idea of you dying for me."

With a hint of satisfaction, the vampire laughed insanely. "Do you hear that, Priest? That girl doesn't want your salvation! She wants to die tonight! By my hands no less!"

Through gritted teeth, my voice came out as a growl. "Shut up! Don't you understand that I would prefer to live? But Father Abel's human..." Looking down, I took a breath before continuing. "Just like I am...But unlike me, he gives others a hope to believe in. A hope that's like no other."

"Jonah..." Abel whispered, and trace of happiness having been drained from his face. Then almost as soon as he'd spoken, he set his jaw in a hard line, his eyebrows becoming furrowed and his eyes began to gain a hint of undiluted hatred. Finally after a moment had passed, he calmly stated, "Jonah, I can't allow you to throw your life away so easily. I don't care about how you try to reason it out to yourself or to others, but it all comes down to one thing. We are all children of God, the very life that he has given you is special enough because you are alive! I won't stand by idly while that precious gift is obliterated!"

Words failed me, and all that I could think to do was to nod silently, thankful that this priest wasn't so easily swayed in his holy endeavors as I had originally thought he to be. I was so thankful that my prayers of being saved were actually being answered.

"Good girl. Now Mr. Nakomi, this is the one and only chance I'm going to be offering you to give yourself up. Not to mention to come peacefully." Abel warned with a darker tone hidden deep within his normally kind voice.

Laughing at the threats, the vampire flexed his fingers and instantly the nails on his left hand grew to nearly a foot in length. "Go on and keep your dreams alive for as long as you can you Vatican lap dog! But what hope could you possibly have of beating a Methuselah, like myself? A punch from a Terran like you is nothing more than an early spring breeze upon my face." Scowling, he prepared to attack both Abel and myself.

Quickly removing his glasses, Abel handed them to me over his shoulder, and kneeling down he whispered, "I don't want you anywhere near this. You hear me? It's not something that I want you to see!"

"But Fath-"

"No 'buts'! I want you to find an escape and take it! Look for Father Tres if you can. He'll protect you, but if you aren't able to find him in the next five minutes, then run to the safest place that you can think of. And stay there! I will come and get you as soon as I can, I swear it." Beneath the light of the twin moons, I could see the sadness of a man who had been tormented by the things that he couldn't control.

A sadness that he desperately tried to hide from those around him.

So reaching up, I gently touched my hand to his cheek. "Just be careful, Father. I'll be cheering you on." Pulling my hand back, I held onto the eyeglasses of my savior and hurried off, looking for a safe way to reach the ground below.

Staying behind, Abel glowered, "This could have ended so easily, and without a fight." Taking his left hand, he pinched one end of the black ribbon that held his long hair back and gave it a small tug, pulling it undone. His hair, no longer restrained, fell down to his waist. Then placing the long, thin ribbon inside of a pocket, Abel spoke. His words drenched with his unending sadness, "Though the path that often points to a successful mission isn't always the easy one. I've come to expect that. But please, do not think that for one second I am going to relish the idea of what it is that I have to do. Because believe me...I don't, and neither should you."

Spitting at Abel's words, Andros angrily yelled out, "Enough of this meaningless drivel!"

The sorrow within his eyes deepened, then with a defeated sigh, he unwillingly gave in and relented to the vampire's demands. "As you wish."

The vampire sprang up into the air with inhuman strength and speed, making sure that when he landed he would be directly behind the priest. A move that offered him the perfect chance to attack him at a weak point. Yet no attention was spared on the blood crazed monster.

"You can't say that I didn't warn you. Nano-machine...Crusnik 02...power output...forty percent...activate!" The humble man began to fade away, while taking his place was a creature borne from within the darkness, and whose strength rivaled that of even a vampire.

Abel's blue eyes, the same color of a pond in the midst of a frozen winter, became tainted and turned a shade darker than blood. Extending from his upper lip and working their way down, two fangs gleamed brightly under the natural light of the twin moons. His hair, seemingly gained a life and mind all of its own, flew up and formed a writhing, unruly crown above his head. His skin white as alabaster, grew ashened. And silently, he opened his right hand, holding his arm out in front of his body. Calling forth a double-bladed scythe. A weapon made from his very bones and blood. Its exterior was of a skeletal build, while its color was a metallic red.

Witnessing Abel's transformation, Andros halted his attack and landed on his feet several yards away from his opponent. Fear obviously reflecting from within his eyes. "What...what in the Hell are you?!"

Not even attempting to withhold anything, Abel spoke, his voice warped and containing no trace of its former kindness. "I am what is known as a Crusnik. And thus it is my codename within the section of the Vatican that is called the A.X. I am a vampire's vampire." Narrowing his eyes in distaste, he demanded, his tone harsh. "Is this meaningless drivel to you now?!"

The vampire turned on a heel and began to sprint away from the priest, but no matter how fast he ran, his speed wasn't even comparable to that of the Crusnik's. For Abel caught up with the fleeing vampire within seconds. Then fangs bared, and scythe in hand, he swung one of the sharpened crimson blades at Andros' torso. Hitting his mark, slicing the vampire into two pieces.

As the two halves of Andros Nakomi landed on top of the roof, Abel took the chance to return to his previous form. So as the fire in his eyes burned out, only to give way to their usual winter blue, as his hair fell limply against his back and shoulders, and opening his mouth, now absent of fangs, he remorsefully whispered, "I had really hoped that I could have gotten by without using the power of the Crusnik..."

Screaming out in pain, Andros was well within an inch of death.

Pity overtook the priest's face, and Abel now free of the Crusnik's dark influence, spoke quietly to both himself and to the dying ears of the vampire before him. "May our Lord and savior forgive you for the sins that you have committed while you have lived upon this Earth. Amen." He then drew his revolver out of the holster hidden beneath his overcoat, and as he did earlier, he made sure that there were bullets in each of the the gun's chambers. As soon as he knew that the gun was ready to be fired, he pulled back the hammer with his thumb and aimed the barrel of the gun at the vampire's head, and before he could stop himself...Abel pulled the trigger.

The sound of the shot resonated within his mind. Yet it was over. Andros was dead.

With a heavy sigh, he stowed away the revolver and slowly turned away from the corpse, heading in the same direction that I had gone. When he reached the edge of the roof, by chance, Abel looked to his right. His gaze fell upon me, sitting with my back pressed up against the brick siding of the house, my knees drawn in close to my chest.

"I'm sorry..." Was the only thing that I could say. Unable to bring myself to look him in the eyes, I held out his glasses in one hand and as soon as I felt their weight lift from my palm, I drew my hand back close to my body.

Fitting his glasses back on, he asked, almost pleaded, "Why did you go against my orders? Why did you stay behind?"

"I wanted to see what you would do to him...but I never..." My voice trailed off as a tremor shook my body, I couldn't help but to hug my knees tighter. "I never imagined it would be done that way..."

Sitting next to me, the man who had turned out to be far more than just a simple priest from the Vatican, he quietly stretched out his long arms and legs. "It was never my intention to frighten you, Jonah...I am sorry..."

"You haven't frightened me. Shocked would be a more appropriate term, but not frightened." I lied, trying my best to not add onto the anguish that already riddled Abel's mind. "How did you do that though? What was that thing?"

"That was the Crusnik that resides within my body...I hate having to rely upon it...but sometimes I am left with no other alternative..." Looking down at his hands as they trembled with both hatred and disgust, he slowly clenched them up into tight fists, muttering as he did so. "I'm a monster!"

Shaking my head, I told him the very words that were on my mind, "You're not a monster. A monster would have simply left me to die. Trust me, Father Nightroad, like I trust you. You are the farthest thing from a monster that there is."

The ghost of a smile flitted upon his lips, and disheartened he whispered, "Thank you."


	3. Never Look Back

Chapter 3: Never Look Back

Hours after the skirmish between Father Nightroad and the vampire, Andros, had ended, we found ourselves still sitting on the roof of my nearly empty house. Father Tres was still inside, assessing the situation, and Abel cautioned me that we might yet be there for just a little while longer. When I heard him include "me" within the "we" I asked him, "So do you still plan to take me away from my home? The vampires have been destroyed, right? So doesn't that mean that it's safer now?"

Frowning, he began to fill in the pieces of the whole sordid story that I didn't already know about. "I wish it were as simple as all of that, but those vampires were just the forefront of a much larger, more dangerous group known as the the Order of Rosen Kreuz." Blue eyes on me, he whispered, his voice so low that I could barely hear his next words. "Please believe me when I tell you this. It really is best if you didn't stay here...for now anyway. My superior, I'm sure, will send word to your parents. So don't be afraid, we will make sure to protect them, as well as you, the best that we can."

"Where will I go then?"

"With Father Tres and myself no doubt. That vampire got a good look at you, and the Order always seems to know the things that they shouldn't." As he spoke, Abel shifted his gaze up to the dusky sky above us. "Though he is dead. I'm sure that the higher ups in the Order took a peek into the thoughts of our friend, Mr. Nakomi...so by now they know that I am giving it my all to protect you. Making you an easy target. Yet in the end, all that they really hope to achieve is getting their hands on me..."

Resisting the urge to reach out and take hold of his hand, to just ease the burden that pained his mind, to be nearly a single hundredth of the help to him than he had been to me. Quietly I whispered, "Father..."

The seconds passed and an unlifting silence fell between us, giving me a moment to think about all that had happened that had caused my life to so drastically change in just the last six hours. My mind buzzed with all of it. I had gone from living an average life, to becoming a prize coveted by a malicious group called the Order of Rosen Kreuz. The world that I knew was being shaken at the core, and things were steadily starting to fall apart. How could I do this? How could I just leave my home and go off on some foreign journey with two priests from the Vatican?

As everything slowly started sinking in, the revelation that I eventually came to made my heart feel as though it were breaking open. The thoughts of all that was now inevitable in my life came crashing down like a wave. "I can't do this." I drew my knees close to my chest again, and forced my eyes to shut. Willing my dream, if that's what I was in, to end.

Next to me, as if he knew of the internal conflict that was now raging within me, Abel muttered, "I find that never looking back helps to numb the pain. Just keep moving forward, you'll be able to get through this." His words were sincere and I could hear the friendly smile that he wore within the sound of his voice. "I'll make sure of it."

Muffled by my clothes, my voice growing weak from fatigue, came out barely audible. "Why are you still so intent to help me?"

Taken back by my words, Abel asked, "What do you mean?"

"You saved my life, and I am thankful for that...but why continue to help me when your debt has already been paid?"

A moment went by, then carefully he whispered, "Well it's because I would like to think of myself as your friend."

"You mean just like that? We're friends?"

Nodding his head, he ventured to ask, "After everything that we've been through tonight, can I also call you my friend? You saw my true self, and you didn't shy away from it. Whereas others find me intimidating." Within his voice, I found a new found hope trying to break through to the surface.

I responded to that hope with a smile. "Of course you can, Father Nightroad! Just remember, I don't like seeing my friends in pain. Nor do I like knowing that they're sad."

Opening his mouth to speak, Abel was forced to stop short when he suddenly placed the tips of the fingers on his left hand to the small communicator cuff attached to his left ear. "This is Nightroad, awaiting instructions." There was a moments silence, then he answered a question that I hadn't been able to hear. "Yes, and we're bringing a young girl who is likely to be targeted by the Order with us." Only a few seconds went by before he continued to speak. "Jonah Turner. Appears to be around nineteen years of age. Both parents are away on vacation. Oh and Kate, by bringing her back with us to the Vatican, I am willing to accept full responsibility for her." He stole a quick glance at me, upon which he grinned widely. "So Sister, how far from our current location are you exactly?" The answer came quickly. Abel nodded and excitedly exclaimed, "Just enough time to go and get Tres. After that we'll head to an area big enough for you to land and...Oh, so you're not planning to land the Iron Maiden? If that's the case, then we'll stay here. We'll see you in a few moments." A farewell was said, and lowering his left hand, he rested it on his lap.

Looking up towards the Heavens, I asked, "So we're leaving soon?"

Pushing himself back to his feet, Abel exhaled. "It would appear so. Better get Tres before Sister Kate shows up." He turned to leave but before he could so much as take a step, halted when he heard a mono-toned voice from behind us.

"No need, Father Abel Nightroad. Inspection of the site is complete." Tres stated, his appearance exactly the same as it had been before the vampires had showed up. "Damage report?"

With a hand now placed on my shoulder, he answered. "All is fine here, Tres." He looked at me before adding. "Right?"

"Yeah! Father Abel made easy work of that vampire!"

As he began to chuckle, Abel looked towards the sky and smiling whispered, "The Iron Maiden has arrived."

Following his gaze, I gaped at the battle airship that was gradually making its way towards us. I could easily tell that the basic shape of the ship was that of a cross, and even in the dark of night, I could see a design made out of a beautiful mosaic that decorated the outside walls of the large vessel. The very sight of the Iron Maiden brought the thought of leaving home come flooding back into my mind.

"Jonah, just remember what I told you."

"Never look back...just keep going..."

"That's right. And I'll be there right alongside you every step of the way." He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, before kindly adding, "I promise."


	4. Moving Forward

Chapter 4: Moving Forward

Once on board the battle airship, the Iron Maiden, I found myself being rapidly shuffled through the vast network of hallways. From the very few things that I was able to make out of the interior in the airship was that its beauty, on the inside, was just as apparent as it had been on the outside. I couldn't help to feel that it was impossible that another airship like it existed anywhere else in the world.

Passing through a new room, one that had a wall of evenly spaced Plexiglas windows, I looked over towards Father Abel and Father Tres and asked a question that was eating away at my mind. "So where are we going exactly? It might be because I'm new here, but it feels like we're just wandering from one hall to the next. Do either of you officially know what we're looking for?"

Chortling, Abel came to a stand still and started to readjust the collar of his overcoat, once finished he began to speak. His voice sounding both weary yet so alive at the same time. Almost as if he'd just ran a marathon, where the prize for winning was an opportunity to discover the cure for death. "Well we are just simply escorting you to your sleeping quarters for the evening." Sheepishly he looked away for a brief moment before he continued. "And well, Father Tres is here to make sure that I don't get lost myself." With the very smile that I was quickly growing so accustomed to seeing, I couldn't help but to return the favor and smile back. "So did that answer your question, Jonah?"

"Yeah. I can easily see how anyone would manage to get lost here. The Iron Maiden's quite literally the size of a small city." I peered out of one of the many Plexiglas windows and watched as the world passed by, completely untouched, below us. The sight of the cities and streets that were as tiny as ants flew by, another question came to my mind. "Uh, Father. What will I be able to do once we reach the Vatican? I'm not skilled in anything, so I'm afraid that I might be nothing buck a nuisance."

Reflected within the faux glass, I saw Abel standing behind me, undoubtedly trying to think of the best way possible to explain it to me. Eventually after a moment of silence had gone by, he calmly stated, "I'm guessing that you'll be granted a post as a temporary agent within the A.X. That's really the only way that we'll be able to protect you. And as for being afraid that you'll be a nuisance, don't worry. I've had my own fair share of mistakes, and look at me. I've still got my job within the A.X."

Taking in a deep breath, I tried to steady myself. The fatigue that I had felt before that very second was now gone. "So an A.X. agent...like the two of you?"

This time it was Father Tres who responded to my inquiry. "Positive, temporary Sister Jonah Turner."

Face flushing, I couldn't think of what to say. So almost out of instinct, I turned my gaze back to the window looked out at the dark sky. I couldn't help but to feel lost in this brand new world that I had just managed to step foot into. My reflection from within the glass looked as uncertain as I felt.

Without warning, through the barrier that was my reverie, I heard Father Nightroad speaking. Though he sounded farther away than he actually was. I slowly turned to face him. He was talking to Father Tres, yet I wasn't able to catch the words that he said. When his lips stopped moving, Tres replied with a single word, then turned around and began to leave.

Quickly shaking my head to clear away all of my thoughts, I cried out to the silver haired priest that had stayed behind. "Wait! Where is Father Tres going? I thought that he was here to make sure that neither one of us got lost?"

"I think that the two of us will be able to manage just fine on our own. Besides, the rest of the A.X. agents would be furious with me if I was careless enough to forget that he needs to go and recharged." He smiled widely and chuckled softly.

Obviously missing out on the joke, I hesitantly asked, "So he needs to sleep?"

"I guess you could call it that. However don't worry. You will learn everything that you need to know soon enough. As for right now though, I'd say that it's a pretty safe assumption that both of us need to sleep and recharge ourselves. Otherwise we won't be in any fit condition to do anything that we'll need to tomorrow." His deep blue eyes seemed to twinkle like tiny stars with his every word.

"Right..."

The smile he wore faltered slightly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really. I'm just having a hard time understanding everything that's on my mind right now. So much has happened to me, and my life has changed in so many ways. I know that I can trust you and Father Tres with my life, but..." Unable to continue looking into the eyes of Abel, I veered my vision towards the floor beneath my feet.

Yet he pushed for me to continue speaking my mind. "But?"

"I'm having trouble discerning if all of this is even happening. Is it even possible that I'm still asleep in my bed...dreaming?"

"This isn't a dream. I can at least assure you of that, Jon-Oh, forgive me. I mean Sister Jonah." Laughing at his own tiny mistake, I noticed that Abel's face became lit with true happiness and his voice was full of amusement. "That will most definitely take some getting used to, now won't it?"

"I guess it might. But can't you please just continue to call me Jonah? 'Sister Jonah' just sounds so...so strict? It doesn't suit me." I mumbled quietly, watching as Abel continued to smile.

"You'll get used to hearing it far sooner than you think you will." With a slight glance to his right, his eyes fell upon a round clock that had been hung up on one of the ship's many interior walls. Seeing the time, he silently began to scream and taking hold of my hand, hurried down the long hallway we had been standing in. "So the plan is that the first two rooms that we come across and are, might I add empty, become ours for the evening. No one will be the wiser."

Blushing lightly from where Abel had grabbed my hand, I simply nodded without saying a word. And though I immensely enjoyed Father Nightroad's company, I couldn't help but to look forward to having a few hours to myself. I needed to sort out all of the thoughts that had been floating around inside my brain all evening. I had to make sense of it all.

Less than a minute later, a pair of neighboring rooms came into view and I knew that it was time for Abel and myself to part ways. At least until the morning came. "Good night, Father." Smiling, I took hold of the door knob in my right hand and twisted it until the door opened. Entering the room I heard Abel whisper to me from out in the hallway.

"Pleasant dreams, Jonah. I will wake you u in the morning, just a little before we arrive at the Vatican."

From where I stood, I said, "Thank you. For everything." With that, I shut the door behind me, leaving Abel with the only option of going into his own room for the night. Inside of the room that was currently mine, I noticed that it had the basic commodities that are usually found in places like hotels. Pushed up against one of the four walls was a twin sized bed. Plain white sheets had been used to cover the bed itself. It was simple, yet very comforting. To my left, in the corner, was a wooden standing mirror. Unable to resist the urge, I walked over to it, looking at my full reflection for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

I could hardly recognize myself.

My clothes had dark spots on them from where I had spent hours sitting on the roof of my house with Father Nightroad. My long brown hair was disheveled, and I hurried to try and tame it down with my fingers. My face was by far the worst part of it though. My green eyes, normally so bright and full of spirit, now looked vacant and void of life. My face itself looked so shell shocked, I felt like crying because of it.

Prying myself away from the mirror, I walked over to the bed and sat down. Outside of the window next to where I sat I could see that the sky was beginning to grow brighter as a new day was just about to start.

Doubt threatened to creep back into the corner of my thoughts, and remembering Father Nightroad's words, I spoke them aloud to myself. "Never look back. Just keep going." With a sigh, I decided to finally lie down. My legs dangling off the end of the bed and looking up at the ceiling above me, I shut my eyes. Falling asleep and instant later.

Yet no dreams awaited me, only the never-ending night and the fear that was trying to engulf my every thought.

When morning came, it felt as though I had only managed to sleep a few minutes, but a few hours had gone by when the gentle knocking on a door woke me up from my dreamless slumber. A voice that I didn't know soon followed. "Are you awake yet, Sister? Well if not, then now is the time to do so. We'll be landing in Rome in less than an hour, and if you hurry, you might still yet have some spare time for breakfast." The voice was cheerful, but I had no idea what the person that the voice belonged to was talking about.

During the night, I had subconsciously forced myself to forget everything that had happened the previous day. "Sister? Rome? Pancakes?" I mumbled, my voice still heavy with sleep.

There was another knock on the door and the person spoke again. "Sister Jonah? I'm coming in."

I sat up on the bed and watched as the handle on the door was twisted open and in the doorway I saw the tall figure that I now remembered was Abel. Seeing him standing there in his long black and white cassock gave me a sense of deja vu, and I couldn't help but feel as though I were seeing him for the very first time all over again. His silver-white hair was held up with the thin black ribbon, and his glasses rested comfortably against the bridge of his nose. The winter blue eyes behind the glass' lens looked at me as I simply sat on the bed.

But as I became more alert, the memories from the previous day started coming back to me. "Father Nightroad?"

Worry overtook his face, "Jonah, are you all right?"

"Yeah. I guess I just somehow managed to forget all that happened yesterday." I looked down and stared at my hands without actually seeing them, and almost as if it were simply an after thought, asked. "Father...how can I meet your superior. I mean, our superior, dressed the way that I am right now?"

"I'm already ahead of you."" He gave me a playful wink and with a laugh he turned, leaving the room. Quickly I got up and followed after him.


	5. Truth and Strength

Chapter 5: Truth and Strength

Finding myself once again in front of a mirror, I turned periodically, inspecting my fresh attire from multiple angles. "Uh, I don't know, Father. Are you sure that it looks right?" With my hands at my sides, I really started to take in the image of the unfamiliar version of myself that was staring back at me. My brown hair had been brushed and now rested neatly against my back. On my head I now wore the white and blue habit of a nun from the Vatican. A small section of my hair fell to my shoulders on either side of my face. My eyes now had more vitality than they'd had the night before, hesitantly shifted down to the shin length dress that perfectly matched the habit. The thing that would set me apart from the true sister's of the Vatican were the pair of jet black, lace-up boots that Abel had given to me. "Father?"

Looking at me with contemplative eyes he stood silent for a moment, then with a smile he finally exclaimed. "It looks great on you! And those boots I gave you will truly make you stand out from all the others! You'll honestly become a skilled A.X. agent if you continue at the rate you are right now!"

I forced myself to turn away from my reflection so that I could look Abel directly in the eyes when I spoke. "Father Nightroad, now isn't the time to be joking. This whole ordeal is serious. You know as well as I do that I'm not really an A.X. agent. I'm just playing the part of one. I possess no skills or abilities that would qualify me for an actual position amongst you and your teammates."

Abel shook his head and with an air of certainty, he moved closer to me. "Forgive me, but I do believe that you are wrong. Jonah, regardless of if you are a temporary agent or a permanent one, to me you are still an agent!" He watched my facial expression change as his words touched my heart. With the index finger of his right hand he gently brushed away a strand of hair, that had fallen out of place, from my cheek. "You also need to give yourself more credit than you do. I feel that you have an ability, one all of your own. You just haven't discovered it yet."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do."

Encouraged by his words, I turned back to face the version of myself that had yet to be born. My hand ran down the front of my dress, gliding effortlessly over one of the two rows of buttons that ran parallel to one another. All the while Abel's words were all that I could think about. _"An ability of my own...I just don't know what it is yet."_ With a new sense of hope I turned back to look at Abel. "You're absolutely right, Father! About everything. I look like an A.X. agent and I will work hard at figuring out what ability it s that I have. I won't let you down!"

His smile never leaving its place, Abel began to further reassure me, just as he'd done from the moment we had met. "Oh, I'm sure you won't let me down. I've got faith in you. So you needn't worry. The A.X. won't simply just throw you to the wolves. I will be there guiding you as best as I can."

"Even if you have to use the power of the Crusnik?" I shyly asked, knowing exactly how he felt about his true self.

A silence came between us for a few very long seconds. The only things that I could hear was my steady intake of breath and the pounding of my heart from within my ears. I began to feel as if I had overstepped a boundary that probably shouldn't have, but ever so quietly, with his eyes downcast, Abel answered me. "Even to that extent, I would do it, if it meant that you would somehow gain experience or skills as an agent."

Seeing him look so defeated, I cautiously ventured to ask yet another question. "Father, why exactly is it that you distrust the Crusnik so much? I mean if its powers can be used to help the people on this Earth, then use them! You can honestly bring about a tremendous difference in this world! After all, isn't that why you were given these powers in the first place?"

Staring at me with a somewhat withdrawn expression, he slowly began to whisper. "There was once a time when I actually wanted to destroy the entire human race. I felt that the only reason for my existence was so that I could die for them. I felt like I was being forced to die for a cause that I didn't believe in." Abel no longer wore any trace of a smile, his face growing more somber with his every word. "I admit that I was still very young at the time...but that is still no excuse for what I believed back then."

I felt my heart breaking for the kind priest that stood before me. The weight of the world, the weight of everything that he felt he was at fault for, obviously fell upon his shoulders. "So you're afraid?"

"Yes."

"You needn't be afraid of yourself, Father Nightroad. You're the only being of your kind that exists, right?" I smiled warmly, desperately hoping that I would be able to bring some color back into his otherwise desolate world. "Father, being who and what you are, it truly makes you special!"

A wry smile overtook his face. "That isn't true. I'm not the only Crusnik to have been created. I'm actually the second of four. The first and third being my brother and sister respectively. The fourth...well she is no longer alive."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Father. Do your brother and sister also work for the A.X.?"

He shook his head. "No. I haven't seen either of them in many years." Abel's words grew bitter, his eyes narrowing in distaste. His hands balled up into tight fists. The very mention of his siblings had almost brought him to the brink of fury. "Truth be told, it's probably for the best if it's that way."

"Father Nightroad..." I began, but quickly closed my mouth, taking the time to find the perfect words. After a moment, with a certain degree of confidence, I started speaking again. "Father Nightroad, what exactly happened to you before you joined the A.X.? Where are you from? And how did the fourth Crusnik die?"

Eyes on me, as though he could hardly believe the words that I had said, he slowly sat down on the floor with his back to the wall. His knees drawn close to his chest. I couldn't deny the fact that he greatly resembled a lost child, hopelessly trying to stave off the gnawing loneliness that he felt. Then taking in a deep breath, he whispered. "Before I joined the A.X. I lived on an alien aircraft that became known as the Ark. There I lived with my brother Cain, my sister Seth and the woman that I saw as my mother, Lilith Sahl. Each one of us had been trained to defend the humans from the vampires. However, each of us soon began to think of our situation a little bit differently. Seth began to side with the vampires, even going as far as to say that they were just like everyone else. That they too felt fear, pain and sadness. I wanted to be no part of it. My only desire was to live my life the way that I wanted to. Free from having to risk my life for the very people who would later turn on me and call me a monster! Lilith, being the kind-hearted woman that she was, tried to help us see that we could save both of the two races without harming the other in the process. Then there was Cain, he had every single one of us convinced that the only thing that he wanted to do in life, was to make everyone that he knew just as happy as he was...we were all his fools though...in the end." Abel clenched his jaw tightly. "Cain's true desire was to crash the Ark down upon the Earth, yet the only way for him to get even remotely close to achieving his goal was to murder Lilith...Since he knew that she loved the humans equally as much as he hated them! And he hated everything!" A few tears threatened to fall upon his cheeks.

My throat felt as though it had been closed tight, but struggling against it, I asked. "Your brother killed her? That's what happened to the fourth Crusnik?"

"Yes. The instant that Seth and I learned of Cain's heinous crime, we fought against him and together we forced him into one of the Ark's empty hatches for an escape pod...and finally we threw him from the craft and dropped him through the Earth's atmosphere. The only thing that we could hope for was that the fall would be enough to destroy him...him and his atrocious deeds." A faint smile worked its way upon his lips, and as he wiped away his tears, whispered. "It was then that I decided that I would continue on with what Lilith had wanted for us, her children, to do. To protect the humans at all cost, no matter what! That's when I decided to come and live on Earth. Bringing Lilith's remains with me and burying them inside one of the catacombs hidden deep beneath the Vatican." Sighing, Abel rested his forehead against his knees, then turning to look at me for the first time in minutes, said. "Many years have passed since then and I still don't know if Seth and I actually managed to destroy him."

"Even if you didn't, Father, one day he will have to stand before God, and he will be judged for his actions. He will get what it is that he deserves." I tried to assure him, my eyes looking upon him fondly. "It takes a far greater amount of strength to forgive than it does to seek out vengeance. But if, in the end, if it turns out that he is still alive. If you learn that he still intends to destroy this planet, along with all of the beings who reside on its surface. If he is alive, and you are forced to take action against him, then please remember that you are not alone." With a smile I knelt down beside the priest and placed my hand gently on top of his own. "I might not be that useful in a battle, Father, but I will do whatever I can to help you."

"That won't be necessary."

"Why not, Father Nightroad?"

"After Lilith died, I made her a promise." Lifting his gaze so that it was level with my own, he continued. "That no matter what the situation might be, I will not kill. I no longer want to be the cause of any more unnecessary deaths."

Lightly squeezing his hand with mine, I whispered as happily as I could. "To maintain a promise, that takes the greatest amount of strength of all. Strength and a truly kind heart." Taking my hand from Abel's I stood up, and then extending my hand back out to him, offered to help him to his feet. "I apologize if I made you talk about things that you just wish you could forget about." I watched as his hand moved towards mine, and once he'd gotten a firm hold, I began to pull him up. "But, Father, I would also like to thank you. I get the feeling that you've never really shared any of that information with anyone before. And if you have, then I must be one of the very few." Releasing his hand, I patiently looked up at the priest.

As the moments slowly ticked away, I gradually began to see both the light and life return to his face. The smile that he wore being more infectious than it had been before, yet something about it seemed to be different. Almost as if it were an actual genuine smile. And opening his mouth to speak, Abel's voice was drowned out by the sound of an intercom crackling to life. "This is Sister Kate Scott, with a friendly reminder that the Iron Maiden will be arriving in Rome within the next five minutes. I repeat, the Iron Maiden will be arriving in Rome within the next five minutes. Please be sure to grab any and all personal effects while you still have a chance to do so. And yes, Abel, that was directed at you!"

I looked over at Abel and watched as he stood with his mouth hanging open, he was obviously offended by the reminder that seemed to have been tailored specifically for him. "But...but Sister! I think you've gotten me mixed up with someone else! Whatever it is that you think I've done, I can honestly prove to you otherwise!" He turned to me, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sister Jonah, please tell me that you believe me."

Nodding my head I said. "Of course I do! Now how about we go and see Rome?" With that very question, Abel and I made our way to the entrance of the battle airship, the Iron Maiden. Each step taking us closer to the start of my new life as an A.X. agent.


	6. Welcome

Chapter 6: Welcome

As I stood next to Abel outside of what I could only presume was the door leading into the office of our superior, I began to notice the butterflies as they flitted their wings restlessly from within my stomach. The reality of everything was beginning to sink in and take hold. The fact that I really had left my home. The fact that vampires actually existed. The fact that, until an unknown date, I would be living in Rome. Then finally...the fact that through it all, Father Nightroad would be my mentor and guide. It still seemed unreal to me, yet I knew that it was honestly happening. With a deep breath, I asked. "You promise to stay by my side?" I didn't look at Abel, since I figured he would know that the question was meant for him.

"Through thick and thin." His was was warm and gentle. Just like a blanket that one would wrap themselves up in on a cold winter night.

I could feel his eyes on me and so I asked another question. "What if I fall?"

Abel chuckled quietly before telling me his answer. "Well I guess I'd just have to catch you then, wouldn't I?"

Finally I looked up at him. Never before in my life had I ever felt so grateful because of someone that I knew, as I did in that moment in time. So with a smile, I nod my head and Abel took that as a sign that I was ready and he knocked on the solid mahogany wooden door.

We stood and waited for what seemed to have been an eternity, but just before I was going to say something, I heard a woman's voice coming from the other side of the closed door. "You may enter." Hearing the feminine voice that also sounded so strong, I took a sharp intake of air into my lungs.

Slowly releasing the breath, I smiled and whispered. "I'm ready." Abel, with his hand on the door knob turned it and I heard the lock click open. Father Nightroad crossed over the threshold first, and suddenly feeling as though I were a small child, followed after him. Hiding behind his tall, slender frame.

"Ah, Abel. I'm so glad you made it back with minimal complication. After all, that was the impression I got when I spoke with Gunslinger earlier." The woman spoke with a level of elegance that I had never heard before, and I couldn't help myself when I started peeking out from behind Father Abel. Seeing the movement, the woman's eyes turned towards me. "Oh, is this her?"

She was seated at a sturdy desk, yet I could tell that she was taller than I was, which only made me feel even more like a child than I had before. Light that made its way through a window that ran all of the way to the ceiling of the room, fell across the top of the desk. The natural light made it easy for me to see the face of my new superior.

Beautiful didn't even begin to describe her features. Her voluminous blonde hair fell behind her back and over her shoulders in perfectly formed locks. Her skin was as white as porcelain, giving her the appearance of a doll. The eyes that looked at me, were cool grey in color. A monocle was set in front of her right eye. Her crimson vestments only further insinuated her beauty.

Now as I stood next to Father Nightroad, I could briefly feel his eyes on me, then he began to speak. His voice remaining calm and casual, as if he were talking to an old friend rather than to his boss. "It is! Jonah Turner, allow me to introduce you to the Duchess of Milan; our superior, Cardinal Caterina Sforza. She also happens to be the Chief Minister of Holy Affairs!"

As I stood there, with all eyes in the room on me, I tried to gather as much grace as I could. Curtsying and trying to keep a steady voice, I finally spoke. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Cardinal Sforza's soft voice greeted my ears once more, "And I would like to extend the same kind of pleasantries to you as well, Sister Jonah! It is with open arms that I say welcome!" Her lips, which were almost rose in color, turned upwards into a sincere smile and I couldn't help but to notice that the dignified woman before me, wasn't that much older than I was. "Father Tres has informed me that during the events of last evening, you managed to keep a level head about you. Even when you were face to face with one of the Vatican's most skilled marksmen, you barely batted an eye. Such bravery is strongly encouraged in our line of work." The Cardinal's eyes shut, revealing the fact that the had long eyelashes, but the moment that I noticed it, her steely eyes flew open. "However, I feel that it is only necessary that I tell you this: Be strong in your endeavors for the sake of the world."

Shocked, I just stood there, but with a tiny nod of my head, I gave the Cardinal my word. "I will do my very best." My gaze shifted down to the floor and looking at the exact instance where the rug, that was as crimson as Caterina's garment, collided with the marble tiles that lie beneath it. "I do admit, I did have my doubts, but I spoke with Father Nightroad about them. I told him about how I fear that I'll be a nuisance, and..." With a new confidence, I looked back into the eyes of my superior, all the while feeling Abel's presence standing next to me. "And though I may not be skilled yet, I promise to give it everything that I have. I will become strong. He told me that I have it in me." I turned to face Abel, then after a second passed, I returned my sight back to the head of the A.X. "He promised he would guide me in the right direction."

The blonde beauty considered my words for a moment, then without hesitation she began to speak. "Considering that you hail from Lutetium which resides in the Kingdom of Franc, your words do not surprise me. Since your homeland lies directly on the border of the Kingdom of Albion, the pride of the people from those lands has undoubtedly spread to Lutetium." With a single glance at my face, she added with a coy smile. "Don't take my words as if it were a bad thing. I am only merely thinking out loud about the knowledge that I have about the region."

Left speechless, I quietly whispered. "Yes, ma'am." Unsure about what to say and do, I simply resumed standing silently next to Father Abel, but when I felt his gentle hand on my shoulder, I quickly looked up at him.

The smile that he wore, instantly calmed my mind, and I couldn''t help but get the feeling that he knew about the soothing effect it had on me. Yet it was with that very smile that he quietly asked. "Jonah, you must be tired? Why don't you wait outside while I finish up in here? Don't worry, it shouldn't be too much longer." Taking his hand from my shoulder, he closed his left eye and with the right one twinkling with all of the stars in the sky, with all of the wishes I had ever made, he spoke again. "If I remember correctly there are a few chair waiting in the hall outside of this room." He opened his eye once more and patiently waited.

Before walking out of the Cardinal's office, I curtsied again, my voice coming from between my lips now sounded distant. "Your Eminence." I heard her say a few parting words, but my ears didn't fully register them. Leaving the room and shutting the door behind me, I once again found myself alone with my thoughts.

It was just as Abel had said, I immediately found the chairs that were evenly spaced from one another, their backs gently set against the wall. From what I could tell, each of them were the exact same. With the arms, seat and back rest adorn with a soft, red velvet material, and choosing the chair closest to the door, I sat down.

I could hear my heart pounding from within my chest, and placing my hand to the fabric of my dress, I pressed down. Feeling the rhythmic motions as my heart beat away. With each beat, I drew breath. Releasing the air and trying to ease my mind and body into believing that everything was okay.

As millions of thoughts rapidly whirled about inside my brain, I closed my eyes. Silently begging for them to cease for one second. Yet despite my pleas, they continued on. _"You'll never find your way here. Make all of the promises that you want, in the end they'll see you for what you really are!"_ Faster and faster my thoughts flew at me, all the while my silent pleading continued. I only wanted to be strong. I only wanted to show everyone that I was worth the effort. I only wanted what everyone should be allowed to have in life...hope.

Fresh tears began to form in the corners of my eyes, and as I started to raise my hand to wipe them away, I felt a soft piece of cloth gently dabbing at them as they began to fall from the tips of my lashes. As I felt the cloth move away from my face, I quietly looked up and through a blurry field of residual tears, I saw a girl kneeling in front of where I sat. She was dressed the same as me, and appeared to be around the same age. Her hair that was the color of fire was bobbed, yet bangs rested along both sides of her cheeks. Azure eyes stared at me and in them, the sadness and uncertainties that I felt, were reflected back. Her skin was pure and her voice was kind as she began speaking. "Are you okay? You look lost."

Wiping away the last of my tears, I feigned a smile. "Just a little homesick, I suppose." I saw the expression on her face switch from worry to understanding, and without much thought I continued speaking. "I appreciate the concern, Sister..." My words fell away since I didn't know what her name was.

The girl laughed and stood back up. ""How rude of me. I'm Sister Esther Blanchett" She walked over to the next chair, which was a yard away, and picking it up she carried it over to where I sat. She took a seat and said, "I understand how it feels to be homesick, since I'm not from here myself." As she spoke, her eyes shimmered like lapis lazuli. They had the same calming effect as Abel's eyes.

Before I could linger on that thought for too long, I whispered. "My name is Jon-Sister Jonah Turner. Sorry." Laughing at the small that Esther hadn't picked up on, I rushed to explain myself to her. "Sorry. To be honest, I've only been a Sister within the Vatican for..." I looked around, trying to find a clock. When I found one, I continued on with my previous thought, "...Well for about twelve or so hours now." Tearing my eyes from the device, I returned my gaze to Esther. "This is all still so new to me."

"Wow. I-I can only imagine." She laughed gently and the sound brought me a brand new dose of hope. "I remember how I felt when I first got here. I was afraid, I didn't know anyone, it was probably the only time where I questioned my faith." I nod my head in understanding. "So, Jonah, where are you from?"

"I'm..." I thought back to what Cardinal Sforza had said about Lutetium and the Kingdom of Franc and I wondered to myself if everyone felt the same about my homeland as the Cardinal did. But I quietly responded. "I'm from the Kingdom of Franc."

Esther's eyes lit up and she told me, as a smile overcame her face, "I'm from Albion! It's nice to meet someone from that region, even though I...well even though I didn't actually grow up in Albion." seeing the puzzled look on my face, she explained, "I was raised in a small city called Istavan, and well within the walls of the Saint Matthais Church. It's too long of a story to tell you all of it right now. Perhaps another time, okay?"

I could tell just from the look in her eyes, that it wasn't only a long story but that it was also a painful one. "Sure." In my head I was debating about if I should tell Esther about Lutetium, or if it was also a story that would be best saved from another day. Opening my mouth to ask a question that would help fill the silence between us, I was stopped when I heard a kind voice coming from behind the door.

"Of course, Caterina, I'll make my best effort to visit a little sooner next time." It was Abel and I could tell that he was on his way out of the Cardinal's office.

Next to me, Esther smiled. It was one of genuine happiness and her voice rang out with the sound of pure joy. "It sounds like Father Nightroad's on his way. Have you met him yet?" When I nod my head, she smiled brighter. "He really is something, isn't he?"

Before I could answer, the door to my left opened and Abel stepped out into the hall. He sighed, then looked at both Esther and myself, and exclaimed in his usual enthusiastic way, "Well I leave you alone for a few moments and you've already managed to make a new friend. How are you doing, Esther? Doing your best to make Jonah here feel at home?"

"Of course I am, Father." She looked at me with the same smile she'd been wearing a few seconds prior to Abel showing up.

"That's great! I can always count on you." Finally he turned his full attention back to me. "So are you ready for me to show you where you'll be sleeping from tonight onward?"

I carefully got to my feet, and smoothing out the back of my dress replied. "Yes, Father Nightroad. I honestly feel like I could use a nap..." My stomach quietly began to growl. "Uh...maybe some food too. We did miss breakfast after all." I sheepishly added that last sentence, since I couldn't help but to feel guilty.

Standing next to me, Abel quietly laughed. "I assure you, we'll have some spare time after a brief tour of some of the more important locations that can be found around the Vatican." With his winter blue eyes on me, he took a second before saying, "I'm ready to begin the tour whenever you are."

I looked over at Esther and extending my hand out to her, said, "Would you like to come with us?" It wasn't possible for me to feel anything but happy when I asked this question. The fact that I had already managed to make a friend, someone other than Father Nightroad, was astounding news to me and I immediately found myself silently praying in my mind that she would join us.

She didn't hesitate or need any time to think about my invite, she simply stood up, smoothed out her dress and standing to the right of me, Esther smiled and happily whispered. "Let's go."


	7. That Which is Hidden

Chapter 7: That Which is Hidden

The room which was to be mine was simple. Just like the room I had stayed in while I had been a passenger on the Iron Maiden. A twin size bed was pushed up against one of the four walls, the sheets were cream instead of white. Next to the bed was a small nightstand dresser, along with a basic lamp that had already been plugged into an outlet that was hidden behind the nightstand. Across from the bed and set in the outer most wall, was a single window. Walking over to it, I saw that there was a small garden and without looking at either Abel or Esther, I asked. "What is that? A courtyard?"

In the reflection cast within the window, I could see Abel approaching me. "Very good observation! Yes, this is only one of the few courtyards that you can find scattered on the Vatican's grounds." He was now standing beside me, leaving me unable to look at his face from where I stood. "However, if you think the view from this window is beautiful now, then I must say that you haven't seen anything yet. Just wait until the sun goes down and see for yourself the true beauty of it all." Laughing quietly, I felt as he placed a hand on my shoulder, his voice once more reaching my ears. "Feel free to remind me later to show you how to get out there."

Tearing my sight from the tranquil garden, I looked up at Father Abel. "Right." With a smile, I turned my gaze back out of the window, and as I did so, I noticed that Esther was standing next to the door, her hand hovering over the door knob. "Esther?"

She beamed as she twisted the handle open. "Sorry. I just now noticed the time, and honestly I was supposed to meet with Sister Noelle five minutes ago. I really do apologize for my rude departure. See you two later!" With that, Esther was gone and out of the room before I could do or say anything.

Instantly, I became acutely aware that once more, Abel and I were left by ourselves, and feeling my shoulder brush up against his arm, I broke the silence in the room. "Father, will Sister Esther be okay?"

Abel turned from where he stood and ambled over to my bed, easing himself down onto it so that he didn't mess it up too much. "I'm sure that she's fine." As he spoke, I watched as he slowly laid down on his back and yawning, he shut his eyes. Falling asleep a second later.

It was the first real time that I'd been allowed to take in the tiny details of his face. His skin was pure, with no visible signs of having any blemishes. The strands of silver-white hair that normally conformed with the shape of his face, now fell back and rested against the pillows' surface. His smooth lips were parted slightly, and I listened to the faint sound of every breath he took. I couldn't help but to think that he seemed to look more at ease with the world. More peaceful while he slept.

As I felt a smile overtake my face, I went to the side of the bed, next to where Abel was peacefully slumbering and reached out quietly. I took hold of his glasses and slid them off of his face. Without his glasses, Father Nightroad looked like a completely different person to me. Yet at the same time, I knew that he was exactly the same as he had been before. I set the glasses on the nightstand and whispered, my voice barely audible. "Sleep well, Father." As the words left my mouth, I watched as Abel continued to sleep soundly.

Exiting and carefully shutting the door behind me, I stood outside of my occupied bedroom and tried to think of what I could do. Nothing that I saw was familiar, I had no idea as to where anything was. Every aspect of my new life was foreign, meaning that whatever I decided upon doing, it would become a fresh experience in my memories. With my back pressed against the wall behind me, I looked upwards. My eyes taking in the intricate designs that swirled in the ceiling. The thoughts in my head flying all around, making it impossible to pick just one thing to think about.

I worried about never fully being able to find my way. That I'd mess up. Despite the words that Abel had said to me, I still feared that I would cause trouble for others, that I'd cause trouble for the very person who had brought me here. Yet I knew I would have to try and give it my very best efforts. Stepping away from the wall, I decided to continue down the hall , letting my mind drift around aimlessly while my feet simply continued to move. Never worrying about the end destination.

Just constant movement.

As I wandered from one length of hall to the next I gradually became more cognizant of the fact that I was undoubtedly lost. My movements ceased, and I glanced to my left and right. All around me everything looked the same. Nothing different stood out to me. So placing my hand to my forehead, I muttered out loud. "Great. The one time that I don't pay attention...is the one time that I get lost." With a sigh I decided to continue down the corridor that was to my right.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as windows and doors passed by. With every fleeting second, the panic raged all throughout my body. The more time that ticked away, the more I felt the effects of my panic-stricken thoughts and eventually I couldn't stop myself from beginning to sprint onwards. Slowly, through my fear, I began to think to myself, my speed never decreasing. _"What am I going to do now? Father Nightroad will be so worried if he wakes up and notices that I'm not there. I have to find my way back..."_ As my lungs screamed for me to stop, I pushed myself on.

Sooner or later I would have to run into someone who would know how to get me back to Father Abel. Wouldn't I?

Minutes passed and as I was beginning to lose faith, the sound of voices greeted my ears. What they were talking about, wasn't clear, but I thought for a second that one of them asked. "I wonder what she's like?"

As my feet carried me closer to the places where the voices were originating from, I heard a second voice. A woman laughed, and spoke with affection. "Be patient, little sister. Besides...I'm sure she'll stumble around soon enough."

There was a split second of silence and just before I decided to turn at the next corner, the first girl spoke again. This time she sounded confused. "Uh...what do you mean?"

"Three...two...one..."

At that exact moment I turned the corner. The image of two girls came into view and not paying attention to where my feet stepped, I tripped on an unleveled tile on the floor. My body flying forward, I screamed. "Watch out!" But it was already too late. I collided with the younger girl and by instinct, shut my eyes tightly so as not to see the ground moving closer to my face.

I prayed silently, waiting for the impact...yet. No impact came.

An arm caught me in mid-fall, and as I opened my eyes back up, I heard the older of the two women whisper. "See, Elma? What did I tell you?" Looking up at the person who had caught me, I saw that she was tall. She had fair skin. Her hair was a raven black and had been braided all the way down to her waist. Her eyes that looked down at me appeared to be violet.

As I felt myself being positioned so that I was back on my feet, I looked at the girl I had ran into. I instantly noticed that she was shorter than me, she also looked to be thinner. I got the impression that she had barely entered into her teens. But just like the woman who had caught us, she had extremely fair skin. Her hair was cut up to her shoulders, and was light brown. Her eyes were golden-yellow in color.

I stood there looking from one girl to the next, my mind trying to catch up with what had happened. Bit by bit, I caught up with time, and I felt my face burning red with embarrassment. "Oh, no! I am so sorry!" I bowed low, my words gushing out of my mouth.

The younger girl repositioned the habit on her head, and gently running her fingers through her hair, kindly whispered. "No need to apologize. No one was hurt, but..." She stared at me for a while before asking, "Are you the new sister?"

"I suppose I am." I could feel the blush gradually leaving my cheeks. "I'm Sister Jonah Turner."

The taller woman stepped between me and the golden eyed girl. "Please forgive my sister. She's got an odd obsession with rookies." She smiled warmly before continuing. "My name is Sister Terina Duval."

Fully taking in what Terina looked like, I noticed that instead of wearing the same dress that I had been given to wear, she was clad in a priest's robe.

Before I could say anything, the raven haired sister spoke again, just as friendly as she had the second prior. "Don't mind my clothes." She looked down at me, her violet eyes flashing. "I just find that is far less restrictive than those dresses tend to be." Quickly she shifted her gaze from me to the younger girl.

A brief silence fell and rapidly the girl behind Terina moved into view, her voice coming out as a bit timid. "I'm Sister Elma Duval!"

My eyes drifted between both Elma and Terina. The shock that I felt was apparent as I asked, "So you two are...sisters?"

"Surprised?" Terina laughed as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "I admit that when it comes to our outer appearances, we are complete opposites. But I assure you, Elma and I, are indeed related by blood."

Taking that as her opportunity, Elma ventured to ask. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

I looked at her, and seeing the smile on her face, shook my head. "No, I'm afraid that I don't." As the words left my mouth, I sighed.

Immediately, Elma looked worried. "What's wrong?"

Tilting her head to the side, Terina whispered. "She's lost her savior." I heard her scoff quietly. "Honestly, how anyone could see that harebrained weirdo as a savior is beyond me. Although..." I watched as she narrowed her eyes, and a mischievous grin spread across her face.

Confusion flooded my mind, and blinking my eyes a few times, asked. "I'm sorry?"

Before I could brace myself, she started speaking. "He is kind of cute, isn't he? With those dumb looking glasses of his, and the way he somehow always manages to get himself into trouble." I felt Terina gently nudge me in my side. "And you know, for a priest, I bet he's got a huge-"

My eyes dilated in horror, and in bullet time, I watched as Elma's face turned scarlet and jumping up she placed a hand over her sister's mouth, she whispered. "Enough." When she uncovered her hand from Terina's mouth, I knew that my face must have been as red as Elma's.

With a smirk, Terina jeered. "Sorry, Elma. Did I strike a nerve?"

Through unfocused vision, I saw the young girl shake her head, her line of sight falling on me. "Sister Jonah?"

Terina also turned her attention to me, and as if we had been separated by a brick wall, she whispered. "Hey. Don't take it too literally. I was just teasing you." Her voice sounded like it was a thousand miles away from me.

In a stupor, I muttered, my eyes on the ground between my feet. "It's not like with Father Nightroad..."

"I'm sure that my sister didn't mean any harm." I looked up in time to see Elma glaring at her older sister out of the corner of her eye. "Isn't that right, Terina?"

A slight blush appeared across the bridge of her nose, "It's true. My sister is right." Reaching out, Terina took hold of my hand and with a gasp, she quickly let go of it.

"Terina?"

I watched as she began stepping away from me. "Forgive me." The look in her eyes was that of understanding. "I didn't know that you harbor fear and doubt within your heart."

Shocked, I whispered. "How did you..."

"How did I know?" She smiled at me, a deep set sadness resided within her words. "Intuition."

Unable to think of what to say, I simply nodded. Yet in my head I asked myself, _"How did she know all of that? With just a touch..."_ As my mind began to buzz with thoughts, I watched Elma step closer to me.

Her eyes sparkled with hope. "Dear Sister, every thing's going to be all right." Gently, she grabbed hold of my hands. A tingly warmth began to wash over me. It brought a sense of serenity. Aspiration. Self worth. As these sensations burrowed within my heart and mind, Elma asked. "Feeling better?"

"How did you..." I couldn't resist asking. Looking at my hands as she held onto them. "How did you do that?" I incredulously attempted asking again.

As she laughed, she shook her head. Pressing an index finger to her lips, she whispered. "It's a secret. But you are feeling better, right?" Her voice was hopeful and without saying a thing, I nod my head once. "Good." Elma finally released my hands.

"We should probably get you back to Father Nightroad. Least he begin to think you've been stolen while under his supervision." Terina offered, placing a cautious hand on my shoulder. "Where was Father Four-Eyes when you last saw him?"

I thought back to Abel sleeping peacefully on my bed. "He was asleep..." Wide eyed I turned my focus on to the two sisters. "He fought so hard against that vampire! He fell asleep on my bed and I decided to venture out on my own. If you have to blame anyone for my being lost, then...please blame me." I rest my hand to my breast, and felt the faint beating of my heart.

Elma and Terina both looked at one another, then Terina finally sighed. "You're not in any trouble. Nor is that idiot..." She looked at me and her gaze softened. "Sorry...I meant Abel's not in trouble either. I may give him a hard time, but believe me, I do respect him. I may not always agree with him...but I do respect him."

"Thank you."

Closing an eye, she replied. "Don't mention it. I remember how it feels to be new here. It's pretty intimidating at first, but you'll learn your way around." Walking down the way I had come from, Terina motioned for Elma and I to follow her. "Come on, I won't be able to find him all on my own. Besides..." Her sight fell directly on me. "The point for this excursion is so you'll be returned to him. That is what you want, isn't it?"

Lightly blushing, I answered honestly. "Yes."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Elma asked, her voice right in my left ear. The same calmness fell over me again. "He might be worrying about you."

"You're right!" With a smile, I took off after the kind and mysterious sisters. Every step that I took, brought me that much closer to meeting with my savior again.


	8. The Stars in my Eyes

Chapter 8: The Stars in my Eyes

Walking down the hall towards my room, towards the last place that I had seen Father Nightroad, I almost had to hold my breath. Afraid that I had been away for too long, and that Abel had woken up only to find that I was absent. I feared the possibility that he might have been worried about me. Yet with Terina on my left side and Elma on my right, I somehow managed to keep my calm composure within check. All I truly wanted was to be with the one person that I felt I really knew.

As we got closer to where my room should be, Terina said, "It has to be around here, right?" She didn't look at me when she spoke.

I thought back to the moment I had first entered the room. "Uh, to be honest...I'm not really sure. It's all kind of becoming just one giant blur." A nervous laugh escaped me.

There was a quiet sigh, then Terina muttered under her breath. "It seems that you're just like him."

"I'm sorry?" I had barely understood the words that she had said.

Her response was fast, and to me she sounded slightly annoyed. "Forget it."

My gaze drifted down to the ground at my feet, the speed that I walked remaining even. The remaining bit of the short journey was made in silence, and turning one final corner I saw the very person that I was hoping to find.

Abel stood in the center of a long stretch of hallway. He had his back turned to us, but as soon as I saw him, I could immediately tell that he was searching for something. Or someone.

Most likely me.

I could hear him sigh and then sounding anxious, pleaded. "Dear Lord, where has she gone off to? She's my responsibility, and if she gets lost or hurt...then I won't be able to forgive myself. So Lord, hear my one request. Help me find her, please?"

A gust of air whooshed out from between my slightly parted lips. "He's worried about me..." The words had hung in the air for a moment, when I suddenly felt a pair of hands gently pushing me forward. Looking behind me, I saw that it was Elma. A broad smile stretching across her young face. "Elma, what are you doing?"

He held up a finger to her lips. "Just go on. The sooner you do that, the sooner that he'll be back to normal." With a slight wink, she gave me a single push and turning around, she ran after Terina who was already several yards away. Waving her right hand above her head as she walked.

Circling back around, I watched Abel continue to stand and look defeated. So with a deep breath, I began running towards him. "Father Nightroad!"

He spun on his heel at the sound of my voice. Relief washing over his face when he saw that I was okay. I could hear him saying, "Thank you!" With a smile, he took long strides down the hall. "Jonah! Thank goodness! Where have you been? I woke up and you were just gone."

When I was an arm's length away from him, he held out his hands and placed them on my shoulders. I could see he was making sure that I hadn't gotten hurt. "Don't worry, Father. I'm okay." I smiled, hoping to further ease his needlessly burdened heart.

Rolling his shoulders, Abel whispered. "I'm sorry I fell asleep. But, Jonah, where did you go?"

"It's okay, Father. You needed sleep. After all, you fought hard last night." His winter blue eyes thawed, and he casually draped one of his long arms around my shoulder, escorting me back to my room. "But when you fell asleep, I made the decision to go off and explore by myself."

Abel laughed. "And? How did that go?"

"Father Nightroad, are you by any chance being facetious?" I joked as the door to my room finally came into view.

"Oh, Heavens no."

"Well then. It went about as well as it could have." I watched as Abel's hand gripped the handle and twisted it open. "I got lost." We entered the room, everything was as it had been the first time I had seen it. I heard the door shut behind us, and walking over to the bed I laid down on my back. Looking up at the ceiling, I whispered. "Father?"

"Hm?"

I looked in the direction that his voice had come from, and saw that he was leaning against the wall next to the door. His kind eyes were on me, and suddenly feeling self-conscious I sat up on the bed. "You're not mad at me are you, Father?"

Standing up straight, he strode over to the side of the bed and sat down. He was no longer looking at me. "No, I'm not mad. I was just scared." I sat in silence, watching as he clasped his hands together. A few moments passed, and feeling the silence start to get to me, I moved to sit next to Abel.

Seeing the stark contrasts between him and myself were apparent. His feet touched the floor easily, while mine dangled a few inches from the ground. "I'm sorry, Father Nightroad."

He exhaled slowly, his words coming easily. "It's fine, Jonah. But next time, please let me know where you're going." Out of the corner of his eye I saw him look at me, a faint smile etched onto his face. "Okay?"

"I promise." As I spoke, I leaned over and gently rested my head on his shoulder. I heard Abel chuckle quietly and felt him gently wrap an arm around me again. An action that seemed to be becoming second nature between the both of us. "Father, thank you. For everything that you've done for me. I know that I've already thanked you, but believe me, I really mean it. I feel like I can trust you."

The arm around me squeezed gently. Nothing was said, but I could tell, simply from his actions, that my words of gratitude had touched him. And that was enough for me.

We sat in silence, with my head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around me for a few more moments. But just as my eyes were beginning to feel heavy, I felt the weight from where Abel had been sitting lift. Opening my eyes to see where he had gone, I saw him standing in front of me. His hand extended out for me to take. The light in the room had dulled and I realized that the sun was once again setting on the world of the living. "I know that you're tired and that it's a lot to ask. But do you remember the courtyard you saw earlier?"

I nod my head yes.

He smiled. "Do you also remember how I said that you'd have to wait until the sun set to see the true beauty of it?"

Again I nodded, and reaching out took hold of his expecting hand.

As Abel effortlessly hoisted me back to my feet, he continued to beam excitedly. Seeming to be more aware and full of energy now that his mind had been cleared of its momentary worry. "Jonah, you're going to love it! There's a fountain and throughout the garden that you saw there are lights. It's truly one of the best perks of working with the A.X." I quietly followed as he led the way back out into the hallway, the daylight having nearly vanished from its walls.

Within the dark, I found that I was having difficulty seeing and grasping out in the darkness, I grabbed hold of the back of Abel's overcoat. Holding onto it gently, I could feel my face becoming flushed. "Sorry, Father, I can't see in the dark all that well."

We stopped moving, and I felt Abel turn back to look at me. "I guess I forgot that I've got slightly better night vision than most others do." He chuckled, adding onto his statement. "Despite the fact that I'm practically blind in every other aspect." With another chuckle, placed his hands on my shoulders and quietly whispered. "Just take my lead, okay?"

I nod and held onto his hands with my own. I felt like a small child. "Ready."

Father Abel then whispered, his voice directly in my ear. "Okay. We're going to take a step with our left foot." I nod my head in understanding, and together we simultaneously took our first step. "All right. Now our right foot." Again we both took a step in unison. Once we had found our rhythm, we continued taking steps in this manner until we eventually reached a door. When Abel spoke, I jumped a bit in surprise. "This should be it. Sorry, Jonah. Didn't mean to startle you."

Feeling my heart racing, I quietly whispered. "It's okay, Father. Where are we?"

"Do you see that door knob that's right in front of you?" I could, so I nod my head. "Good. Could you turn it open for me?"

"Sure." I took one of my hands from Abel's and reaching out, I grabbed hold of the faint outline of the door knob and twisted it. When I heard the lock click, I slowly began to pull the door open. The cool night air greeted me the more that I opened the door. Yet instead of becoming cold, the coolness was a welcomed change. Invigorated by the outside temperature, I started opening the door a little faster than I had been before.

But before the door could be opened all of the way, Abel whispered. "Actually. On second thought, here let me open the door." He guided me so that I was standing behind him again. "The view is just so enchanting and I want to see the look on your face as you take it in for the first time." He began humming softly to himself, and I heard the sound of the door knob gently run into the wall's surface. From over my shoulder, Abel spoke into my ear once more. "Now if you could close your eyes for me?"

I did as I was asked, and shut my eyes. "This had better be as great as you're making it out to be, Father Nightroad."

Sliding his hands over top my eyes, he chuckled. "Oh, it is. Trust me." I nod my head, noticing that Abel's hands smelled faintly of soap. "Okay, Jonah. We're going to take a step backwards this time. Starting with our right foot." Together we began to step backwards. "Just a few more should do it. Okay, left foot this time." We both took another single step backwards. "And right, left and last one...right."

The faint sound of running water drifted over to my ears, but other than that, there was silence. "Can I open my eyes yet, Father?"

"Not yet." I could feel him turning me around so that I would be facing him, my eyes remaining closed all the while. A few seconds went by before Abel spoke again. "All right...you can open them now."

At his command, I opened my eyes. Not seeing much at first but as I slowly became accustomed to the soft lighting, I saw that Father Nightroad had spoken the truth. Looking around I saw the same scenery that I had seen earlier in the day, only now, beneath the light cast by the twin moons up in the sky, the beauty of the landscape was unmistakable. Chrysanthemums of various colors were planted around a fountain, the source of the running water, were several yards away from where we stood. A few marble statues had been set in front of the walls that encompassed the majority of the courtyard. Turning around, I noticed that there were multiple lamps, which had been dispersed intermittently throughout the entire area. Then finally, set back in a corner, and below the fanning branches of a small palm tree, was a smooth stone bench.

As I stood and marvelled at all that stood before me, Abel quietly laughed. "What did I tell you? Simply breathtaking, isn't it?" He tilted his head and looked towards the stars as the twinkled above us, forever out of our reach, and inhaling the night air he sighed. Sounding content with the world around him. "On peaceful nights like this, I like to just come out here and take in as much tranquility as I can. And considering what happened last night..." I could feel him return his gaze back onto me, and glancing over at Abel, I watched as a sorrowful hue drained away from his eyes. Taking its place was an understanding tone. "We uprooted you from your life. So I can only imagine that you need the tranquility that is offered here for more than I do."

Finally finding my words, I said. "It's okay, Father. Really." It was my turn to look upon the stars, all of the emotions that I had felt since the start of my journey began to wash over me. "To be honest, Father Nightroad, right before you and Father Tres arrived, I had prayed for my life to become a bit more interesting. So please, don't think of it as though you've uprooted my life. Think of it as if you've helped to answer my prayers." Smiling at him sincerely, I lifted my arms into the air on either side of me. Quiet giggles floated from between my lips. "I've never felt more alive than I do right now!"

With a grin, Abel strolled over to the stone bench and eased himself down onto it. His lanky legs stretching out before him. Strands of silver-white hair dangled on the bench's smooth surface, the color of his hair iridescent within the light of the moons. The perfectly circular glasses that he wore, perched on the tip of his nose. "I'm glad to hear that you feel that way, Jonah. So tell me, what did you do today while I so carelessly fell asleep?" He laughed as he spoke.

Going over to where Abel was seated, I sat down beside him. My mind quickly recounting everything that had happened during the day. "Well...as you already know, I got lost. And while trying to find someone who would help me get back to my room, I ran into two interesting people." I chortled uneasily, going on to explain myself. "I literally ran into them..."

Next to me I heard the sound of him choking back laughter, then as he cleared his throat, he asked. "Did you remember to apologize?"

Feeling my face growing hot, I muttered. "Of course I did. I'm not a child, Father. Anyway, I ran into these two people. Terina and Elma Duval." I took a glimpse in Abel's direction out of the corner of my eye, trying to see how he'd react to the names that I had just said.

It was a moment before he responded, but nodding his head, he whispered. "Those two are indeed interesting. And you probably couldn't tell that they're sisters just from looking at them. But they really are good girls. Elma's as sweet as could be. Sincere. Well in a lot of ways, you two are very similar to one another. Terina, on the other hand..." His words trailed off, and lost in thought he laid his hands in his lap. "Terina's complicated. She's strong...physically...but emotionally she's faced her fair share of demons." He closed his eyes, and sighed. "They've both been through so much."

"What happened to them?" I thought back to my own current situation and when it hit me, I asked. "Was it the Order?"

Looking at me, he replied. "We actually don't know. It was about three years ago that they just showed up here at the Vatican. Originally, they're from the city of Byzantium which is the capital of the New Human Empire." He rested his elbows on top of his knees and propping his chin in the palms of his hands, he continued. "Allegedly, both of their parents were murdered within their home. We're not exactly sure about how true their story is, but it isn't like we'll simply deny them a safe haven and call them liars. That wouldn't bode well for the Vatican. Since it was the Empress herself, Augusta Vradica, who suggested that the two girls come here in the first place." He lowered the volume of his voice, and continued to speak in a hushed tone. "No one knows this, apart from a select few within the A.X. but her Eminence, Cardinal Sforza, wishes that one day we'll have open ties with the Empire. But Jonah..." At the mention of my name, I looked up and saw Abel staring at me, an undeniable urgency were present within his eyes. "You must never let anyone know that you're aware of this matter. You must never tell a soul any of this. Do you understand?"

I nod my head, whispering the reassurance that he needed to hear me say. "I promise, Father Nightroad. I won't say a word about it." With my oath he smiled and looked away. "But Father, it never occurred to me to ask this...but...what is the A.X.? What exactly that you wish to achieve?"

Taking a deep breath, he recited. "The A.X. is short for Arcanum Cella ex Dono Dei. Or if you prefer the Secret Chamber in Virtue of the Gift of God." His eyes turned upwards, and following his gaze, I saw the faint twinkling of a star in the farthest reaches of the Heavens above. "As for what our goal is...we hope for peace. Peace among all nations of this bereft world. Yet..." He let out an inaudible sigh. "With every goal comes a series of obstacles that try and stand in your way..."

"The Order."

"That's right. But we have to persist onward. That's why we fight. With every passing day we come that much closer to realizing our dream. Does that answer your question?" When I didn't respond, I heard Abel chuckle quietly, and feeling his hand gently smoothing out a few stray hairs that were on top of my head he whispered. "Sleep well, Jonah. May you have good dreams. And when you wake, may you feel rested."

I was vaguely aware of the fact that Abel was now back on his feet, and was carefully scooping me up into his arms. I could feel the gentle rocking of his body as he carried me to my room. Yet as the seconds passed, I fell deeper into my slumber. The world around me melted away, leaving only enough space for a sea of stars to fill the void. And plunging in head first, I dove directly into the hopes of tomorrow.


	9. End of the Beginning

Chapter 9: End of the Beginning

It was now August and four months had gone by since I had first arrived at the Vatican with Father Abel and Father Tres. In the time I had been there, I had managed to learn my way around the grounds of my new home, had made a few friends, including Esther, Elma and even Terina and most importantly, people were beginning to trust me enough to handle a few odd jobs. I no longer felt out of place, after all, a few weeks after I had arrived, I started to feel as though I had found my purpose in life. In my mind, I knew I had grown so much as a person, and it made my heart happy knowing that the growths were real. Yet there were still a couple of areas in my new life that I was struggling to master.

One of those areas was learning how to defend myself whilst in the middle of battle.

And standing before me now, was the A.X. operative who had agreed to be my teacher for the day. "All right, Jonah! You can do this! Clear your mind and focus!" The woman sounded encouraging, her slender body positioned in a way that would make her better grounded on her feet. Black hair fell in waves over his shoulders. Her dark gray eyes were trained on me.

I shook my head, clearing away my thoughts. "Can I just take a minute to thank you for agreeing to help me train, Sister Noelle?" Smiling, I quickly tucked a strand of hair back behind my ear, and resuming my usual stance, I readied myself to continue sparring with the senior operative.

Noelle's ruby red lips curved up into a grin, her eyes beaming with joy. "Please don't mention it, Sister. Remember that we all have to do our parts in order to help one another out." I watched as she took a steadying breath, her face losing any sign of emotion. "Okay, Jonah. Here I come!"

With a nod I witnessed as she began sprinting towards me. Her white and blue dress flowing out behind her as her slender legs moved graceful and effortlessly. Her lithe movements were due to the thigh high slit that ran up either side of her uniform. The white heels that she wore clacking against the tile flooring with every step she made. Her speed easily outdoing my own.

Yet I was ready.

Watching as Noelle drew herself closer to where I stood, I timed my actions and seeing her begin to pivot on her right foot while she kicked out with her left, I jumped as far back as I could. The soles of my boots prevented me from skidding as I landed, but I didn't have much time to think about that. The practice session was still underway, and that meant that I had to be quick. I had to act as if my life was actually in peril. So eyes facing forward, I took note of the way that Noelle moved as she continued to charge at me.

Again, she darted for me and kicked out with her right foot while spinning on her left. Thinking fast, I threw my arms out in front of my body and crossed them a few inches away from my face. Making sure that I had enough room to see all that was before me, but I hoped that I'd be able to parry her attack. The tip of one of her white heels dug into my wrist, as I flinched I pulled together as much strength as I could and attempted to repel her backwards. With the force of my movements, Noelle stumbled a few steps, a mixture of surprise and bewilderment falling upon her face.

I saw this as the perfect opportunity for me to strike out and attack. My sight focused solely on Noelle, everything else around me faded away into nonexistence. Leaving only two things left in my world.

My opponent and myself.

In my head I thought the one thing that I needed to hear. _"Keep on going!"_ I lunged forward, willing the muscles in my legs to push me farther. Faster. As the seconds ticked on, I quickly closed the gap between us, and hurtling past Noelle, I dropped down low to the ground and with a swift sweeping kick, I knocked her feet out from under her. Causing her to fall backwards onto her butt.

Confused, Noelle looked back at me, then after a moment she smiled. "Well done, Jonah! Brilliant!" I extended my hand out to her, and with a firm hold on hers I helped Noelle back up. She began to brush out her hair with her fingers and continued speaking as she did this. "If you ask me, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume we're finished with practice for today. I'm impressed with how much you've improved."

It embarrassed me to hear so many compliments that I didn't feel I deserved. "I don't think that I've gotten **that** much better. I simply took all that I've been taught and put it into action. Besides..." We began walking towards the open archway we had entered through just before practice had started, and stretching my arms up above my head I whispered. "Besides Sister, I can't always depend on others to be there to protect me. I'm a person who is just as capable as the next individual is. I'm just doing what it is that I know I should, that's all." As we stepped out into the sunshine, I turned to smile at Noelle.

She bobbed her head in understanding. "If that's how you feel, then I support your decision. Just know that I am wholeheartedly expecting you to continue improving your skills." Beneath the sun's rays, I couldn't deny the fact that Noelle looked just like an angel. Her perfect skin seems to glow within the natural light.

Becoming lost within these thoughts, I was pulled back onto dry land when I heard a very familiar voice calling out to us. "Sister Noelle! Jonah!" Looking to my left I watched as Father Nightroad ran over to where we were standing. He was frantically waving one of his hands at us, yelling. "Wait up!"

With a laugh, I commented. "That's just like Father Nightroad, isn't it? Always acting as if no one else were around watching."

Noelle snickered softly. "Trust me, you don't even know the half of it." She then held her hand up to her mouth and called out. "Yes. We can both see and hear you, Abel! Now just hurry up, we can't wait for you all day!" Peering over at me, she winked.

As Abel neared us, he smiled broadly and with his eyes on Noelle, he ventured to ask just a single question. "So tell me...how did she do?"

"Relax, Abel. She did brilliantly!" She crossed her arms over her chest before continuing on with her report on the progress that I had made. "Jonah finally managed to get a one up on me. You should be proud." Noelle smiled as Father Nightroad switched his gaze from her and over to me.

"Is this true, Jonah?" He asked and I could easily pick up on the hope within his words, yet all that I could bring myself to do was to simply nod my head. At my response, Abel beamed happily. "That is excellent! Well done! Now Sister Noelle, due to this being a joyous occasion, how about the three of us go out and get a cup of our favorite tea? How about it?"

Noelle held up a hand and sighed. "I'd really love to, Abel. However I've got a few more things that I still have yet to do today. Perhaps next time though?" Smiling at the both of us, and without waiting for a response from Abel, she waltzed off in the same direction we had been heading in just moments ago.

Left by ourselves, we watched as Noelle walked away and without warning, Abel was standing directly in front of me. The same goofy smile that I had grown so accustomed to seeing was plastered across his face. "So, Jonah, would you care to go get some tea with me?" His winter blue eyes shined down upon me like a beacon and he held out his arm for me to take hold of.

Interlocking my arm with his, I smile. "Sure, Father. I can't see why I shouldn't." Together we took off, making our way towards the only cafe that could be found within the Vatican's grounds.

A gentle late summer breeze drifted over us, Abel humming to himself all the while. "Today is truly a good day! You proved that all of the hard work that you've been placing into training is honestly beginning to pay off. And now I have an opportunity to go and get a drink with one of my favorite people! It is because of days like today that make me feel so blessed!"

I completely understood what he meant. "I know how you feel, Father Abel. It's hard to think that just a few months ago, you and I first met...that you saved me from that vampire. I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for you." Taking a deep breath, I whispered. "My life has changed so much! And every bit of it has been for the better. Father...when all of this is over, I'd really like to stay here and work towards becoming a permanent member of the A.X." Looking ahead so that I couldn't see his reaction, I inquired. "What do you think?"

Without an ounce of hesitation, he ceased walking and stood before me. Gathering the courage to look him in the eye, I peered upwards. His expression was opaque, and I was beginning to feel as though I had asked something that I shouldn't have, when suddenly he cracked a smile. "I think that it's a great idea! How about we go and speak with Cardinal Caterina about it tomorrow morning?"

The same smile Abel wore wormed its way onto my own face, and filled with enthusiasm, I cried out happily. "Do you really mean it, Father?"

Closing one of his eyes and slightly tilting his head to the side, he reassured my hopes. "We'll go first thing in the morning. So be sure to go to bed early tonight, okay?"

Throwing my arms around him, I whispered. "I promise!" The kind priest had literally just answered my prayers for the second time, and I felt so grateful because of it.

Gently rubbing my back with his hand, Abel smiled contently. "Now how about that tea? We should get moving, otherwise we might not have time for it today."

I pulled away from him and taking off at a jogging pace, with a wide grin, teased. "You should be telling yourself that, Father! After all, you are the one that's falling behind! Hurry up, slowpoke!" Giggling, I motioned for him to come one and join me. The look on his face was one of mock betrayal and distrust.

As he approached he feigned the act of begging, his tone sounding hurt. "Why would you do that to me, Jonah? I may never recover."

"I'm sorry, Father." We both laughed and continued on our way to the cafe, which we were less than a minute away from.

Once there, we ordered our beverages of choice. Abel ordered a milk tea and I ordered an orange spice tea. While we waited for our drinks to be brought to us, we chatted at a table. The conversation between us flowing smoothly and without needing any additional prodding to be moved forwards. We laughed as we began reminiscing over the memories we had made during the time we had known each other. When the barista finally walked over to our table and set our drinks in front of us, I smiled and said. "Thank you so much!" He smiled in return and left without a word. I held my cup of tea up to my nose and gently began to sniff at the aroma of it as it wafted upwards. "Mhm. It smells like Heaven! How's your tea, Father?" I looked over at Abel and watched in horror as he proceeded to add thirteen spoonfuls of sugar into his tea. "Father! What are you doing?!"

He glanced over at me and innocently whispered. "Um, what I always do when I have milk tea?" Laughing nervously he set the sugar bowl that he had been holding onto, back down on the table.

I sighed in disbelief. "But thirteen spoonfuls of sugar, really? You're simply asking to develop diabetes, aren't you?"

Stirring his tea, which now strongly resembled a thick syrup, Abel smiled. "But Sister, because of the Crusnik I sometimes experience low blood sugar. So it's fine."

My eyesight drifted down to the table. "Oh...I had no idea." I fell silent for an instant and then measuring out a single spoonful of sugar and adding it to my own tea, I whispered while mixing the contents of my cup. "I hope you don't feel offended if I choose to not partake in the same habits."

He laughed. "Understandable."

We drank our teas in silence and when we had both finished, Abel informed me that there was a small matter that he had to attend to in town. That I should go on ahead of him and make my way back to continue on with my chores. I complied with his request and told him to be safe. With a smile and a wave, I watched as Father Nightroad walked away from me, and suddenly feeling alone, I turned and headed back the way that I had come.

It didn't take long for me to get to the Vatican, and stopping outside of the building where the living quarters were kept, I whispered to myself. "Maybe I could use a nap. I've been training so often lately...I guess I just didn't realize how tired I've be feeling up until now." As I spoke I tried to suppress a yawn, and failed. "And to think, I still had a few things left to do today as well. I guess I'll just have to stay up a bit later tonight so that I can finish it all." Shrugging my shoulders, I opened the door that led me into the building.

Walking through the empty halls, I turned the corner that was connected to the stretch of building where my room was located and as soon as I rounded the corner. I stopped.

Sister Noelle was patiently waiting outside of my door and by chance, she glanced up. "Jonah! Just the person I was looking for." She laughed. "I figured I would wait for you here, rather than track you and Abel down at the cafe. Would you care to take a walk with me? There are a few things that I have to discuss with you." I debated in my head the course of action that I should take and almost as if she could sense my inner turmoil, she went on to say. "Don't worry. I shouldn't take too long."

Nodding my head when she said this, I replied. "Sure. I can spare a few moments to talk with you. What's on your mind, Sister?" We started walking down the hall and for a while, nothing was said. When I began to feel uneasy, I prompted for Noelle to begin discussing the things that she needed to talk about. "So, Sister Noelle, you wanted to speak with me?"

She smiled. "Right. I wanted to discuss with you the idea of signing on as a full-time operative. I see an immense amount of potential within you, Jonah. So..." As we continued walking, she looked over at me. "What do you say? Would this be something that you'd possibly be interested in?"

With my eyes opened wide, I nod my head. "Actually on our way to the cafe, I conveyed a very similar idea to Father Nightroad."

"Oh? And what did Abel have to say about that?" I couldn't tell if she was surprised about what I had told her or not. If she was, she left no room within her emotions to show it.

"Well he thinks that its a great idea, and even offered to take me to meet with Cardinal Sforza in the morning. I think that he's honestly more excited about the entire idea than I am." I laughed quietly to myself.

Noelle took a left when we reached the next hallway that branched off and walking briskly, she asked. "Just keep me posted with her Eminence's response, okay?"

I had to nearly run to keep up with her pace, but just when I was about to open my mouth to say something, Sister Noelle stopped and stood outside of a closed door. "Sister?"

She reached out and twisted the door's handle and as the door creaked open, she looked over and beckoned for me to follow her. "Come on, Jonah. There's something that I've been meaning to show you. It shouldn't take more than a minute. I promise you." She stepped aside and offered for me to be the first to enter into the room.

Cautiously I hesitated, but noticing the serene smile that Noelle wore, my doubts began to slowly ebb away and I made my way into what ended up being a dimly lit room. "Sister...what..." I looked around, shivers running all along my spine. "What is this place?"

I heard the sound of the door locking from behind me and turning around, I saw Noelle standing in front of the door. "This room is special to me, and don't be concerned. I only wished to speak with you in private. We don't need unwanted ears hearing the things that I have to say." Finally she looked up and as she gracefully walked around me, she began to truly speak her mind. "The night that you met Abel, I am correct in assuming that he informed you about what the Order of Rosen Kreuz is, right?" I couldn't speak, so I simply nodded. "Well Jonah, I've done some thinking and I've come to the conclusion that it would be so much simpler if not only the Vatican, but if the A.X. would back off and let them do the things that they wish to. Now I don't expect you to understand, but I do ask that you, at the very least, hear me out."

I shook my head furiously from side to side, backing away from Noelle. "No! I won't hear of it! Sister, what has gotten into you? You're behaving as though you're a completely different person..." As the words left my mouth, I gasped and came to just one horrifying conclusion. "You aren't Sister Noelle...are you?"

From Noelle's body came a laughter that wasn't hers, but was rather a distorted version of what it should have sounded like. "Bravo!" She slowly started clapping her hands together, and I yet again heard the sickening laughter. "You know, I was really hoping that it would have taken you longer to figure it out. I'm impressed. You're right. I am not Noelle Bor."

Keeping my eyes on the being before me, I demanded. "Who are you then?!"

"Who? Me?" They pointed at them self, a smirk forming upon their lips. "You may call me Puppet Master and I am a member of the Order."

My body instantly froze in fear.

Laughing at my fear as it overtook me, Puppet Master began circling around me like a ravenous beast. "I'll let you in on a little secret of mine. Dear Noelle has been dead for a few hours, and unfortunately, the time that I have left to speak with you is limited. I blame the fact that she was human for this little snafu. After all, human bodies hardly ever make for an appropriate vessel." They chuckled and narrowing their eyes whispered. "On second thought, I believe that I can spare a few minutes so that I can show you what the perfect vessel actually looks like."

With a snap of their fingers, three creatures appeared from within the shadows. Each of them were equipped with oxygen helmets and had been clad in thick black cloaks. In each of their hands, they tightly held onto a pair of battle axes, the blades of which looked as though they were sharp enough to split a strand of hair with ease.

I instantly recoiled away from them in terror, yet I couldn't find my voice. And as Puppet Master walked over to one of the creatures, they used one of Noelle's fingers to gently touch the edge of one of the sharpened blades. I watched as a trickle of blood began to flow from the wound. "Simply magnificent, aren't they? They're called Death Hunters and do you want to know what makes them such perfect vessels?" The question was asked, yet they knew I wouldn't respond. "Well it's because they are actually reanimated vampire corpses. And they are fully under my control. They heedlessly follow my every command and they feel no shred of doubt." The eyes that had once belonged to Noelle looked towards my direction. "You are going to die in this room, Jonah Turner. It is with your death that I hope to enrage Abel Nightroad. Enough so that he will strike out and seek vengeance for the fallen girl who was supposed to become a sister of the church." There was a soft chuckle, and then they wistfully added. "Or at least, hopefully it will be enough drive him over the edge and, better still, break his heart and mind."

Finding enough courage within myself, I yelled. "Your plans have been made in vain, then! I'm not going anywhere!"

The Puppet Master laughed. "Such tenacity is indeed admired." Extending an arm out in front of Noelle's body, the member of the Order flexed their hand and immediately the Death Hunters, who had been patiently waiting for their master's command, sprang into action. All at once and with incredible speed.

Looking around, I could barely tell what was happening and watching as the room started to become a blur, I instinctively dodged to my right. From over my shoulder, I saw the glint of a blade ricochet off of the stone floor. But I didn't allow myself to stop. As I heard a faint sound of movement coming from somewhere behind me, I rolled to my left. Yet again, one of the masked creatures appeared and as it turned its head to look at me, I froze. And in the midst of my frozen state, I felt a sharp pain originate in the side of my neck. Quickly followed by a warmth that began to spread down my left arm. I lifted my hand to the side of my neck and then pulling it away, I saw an impossible amount of blood coating my fingers. As I continued to stare at the blood, I noticed that my vision was starting to go in and out of focus. Feeling my strength abandoning me, I silently fell to the ground, my blood spreading out all around me.

I knew that I was dying.

In the commotion of it all, I heard the faint sound of the Puppet Master's insane laughter.

So this was how I was going to leave this world? Left alone with the enemy and with no one else there to stop them? My eyes started to feel heavy and I fought the urge to shut them. I had to hold onto the hope that I could still be saved.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, I slowly started to relinquish my hold on all of my hopes and dreams. I silently said goodbye to my friends and family. I silently longed to have just one more day to be alive...but I knew that it was impossible. I knew that I was about to leave the world, and that nobody would even be aware of the fact. And just as I began closing my eyes, I heard the sound of a fleeting hope come flooding back to my ears. I heard what sounded like Abel yelling out my name, and though I could no longer see, I was sure that it was him. Following the sound of his voice, there were several rounds of gun fire.

After a minute, all fell silent. Then hearing what I thought were feet hurrying towards me, I felt as Abel pulled me into his arms. A fresh new warmth fell from my eyes and I realized that I was crying. As Death's cold embrace finally started to overcome me, I heard Abel's voice in my ear. "Jonah! Stay with me! Come on! Don't do this! Don't die!" He sounded as though he were a million miles away.

And with the final breath that I felt like I had within me, I used it to whisper out two words. "Father Nightroad..."


	10. Between Life and Death

Chapter 10: Between Life and Death

I could no longer feel anything, and I could no longer see the world around me. The only explanation that I could even begin to think of was that I had been trapped within a pitch black abyss, and that the darkness engulfing me was completely inescapable. Inside my mind, I begged and pleaded for the slightest sign of life. For anything that would give me any sort of indication as to where I was. The same three thoughts played on repeat in my head. _"Where am I?! How did I get here?! What happened to me?!"_ Yet each time these questions were asked, I always got the same response.

Silence.

Nothing seemed real to me, but as time marched on, I began to hear something new. Something that wasn't the sound of my own frantic thoughts.

I heard music. The sound was soft, but it was unmistakably the melody of a song. And as my brain began to process the sound, the darkness around me started to become a dull gray. Then from dull gray it slowly transitioned to being impossibly bright.

Gradually, I thought to move my body and testing the waters, I started off with moving a finger. When I could feel the movement of my finger, I slowly attempted to open my eyes. Bit by bit I opened them, the bright light above me offered a welcome change after being left within the dark for so long.

It was a minute before my sight adjusted to all that surrounded me, but when it did, I felt that I was lying on my back. That I was looking upwards at a white ceiling. I decided to lie still for a brief second, feeling the coolness of the metal table that I was lying on beneath the palms of my hands.

As I lay there, I silently wondered to myself. _"Am I alive? Why can't I remember how I got here?"_ I took in a deep breath of air and releasing it slowly, I thought. _"Well...at least whatever that was...at least it's finally over."_

Then from within the almost near silence of the room, I heard the faint sound of a man speaking to himself. "The current date is August 26th of the year 3064 A.D. The subject, Jonah Turner, continues to exhibit signs of revitalization. At this rate, I am estimating that she should be fully healed and awake within the hour. As of right now, I have been keeping these observations to myself. Since the progress has been slow going over the course of the last two days. However, I feel that I will have to confide my full findings with the remaining members of the A.X. soon enough."

I couldn't tell who had been speaking, but I had heard them mention my name, was it possible that they knew something that I didn't? While thinking these thoughts, I caught the sound of footsteps moving through the room. Eventually the steps ceased, only to begin again, this time coming towards me. As I heard them drawing closer, I braced myself, making sure that I was ready to either fight or to take flight.

When the sounds of the person stopped, it seemed to be permanent this time. But when I exhaled, thinking that I was safe, a man's face appeared directly above me. The sudden appearance made me scream out in fear, but as I took a second to look, I realized that I knew the man. He had short brown hair that had a slight curl at the ends. Powerful blue eyes looked at me from behind a pair of reading glasses. His face was smooth, apart from a few wrinkles around the corners of his mouth, which was currently set in a grim smile. "Oh? So you're finally awake?"

I fished through my memories, and once I had a name to go along with the face, I whispered. "Father Wordsworth?" Slowly I sat myself up on the metal table, and looking down at my legs and torso, I saw that I had been dressed in a simple white shirt and a pair of long pajama pants. "Father Wordsworth...what happened to me? Where am I?!" I inexplicably felt myself growing angry, and it confused me since Father Wordsworth, who was known as Professor within the A.X., hadn't even done anything wrong.

The Professor held one of his hands out in front of his chest, obviously calling for a time out. "Now hold on, Jonah. I know that you must be feeling anxious right about now, but there is no need to go and lose your temper. So calm down, and I promise that I will tell you everything that I know." He grabbed a chair from another table that was a few feet away and placed it next to where I sat. As he took a seat, he stated in a matter of fact tone. "In addition, however, I need to ask you a few questions of my own. Do you understand?"

Nodding my head, I complied with his wishes, and taking a deep breath, I calmly repeated the same questions that I had asked earlier. "What happened to me? Where are we?"

Satisfied by my change in temperament, he began to inform me of the things that I had asked about. "Two days ago, you were attacked. We have an eyewitness who can directly tie Noelle Bor to the scene of the crime. Jonah..." He looked at me, and I could tell that he was being extremely serious when he asked his question. "Is there anything, that you can think of, that could have made Noelle wish to harm you?"

I shook my head. "No. In fact, Sister Noelle had been the one who ended up helping me to train so that I could hopefully further improve my combative and defense skills."

Showing me that he understood, the Professor went on to say. "It saddens me then to inform you of this then, but Sister Noelle has passed away."

"That's impossible..." Shock took over my body, and without actually speaking my thoughts out loud, I silently asked myself. _"What drove Noelle to attack me? How is it that she's now dead?"_

Father Wordsworth quietly retrieved a sea foam pipe from one of the two pockets on the front of his navy blue cardigan, and with it in hand, he placed the mouthpiece between his teeth. Taking a few long draws off of the device before he began to speak. "I feel as though I should go ahead and mention this, but...not only have you been unconscious for the last two days, but when Noelle attacked you she inflicted a very serious, fatal wound on the left side of your neck." His full attention fell upon me. "Jonah, you died in Father Nightroad's arms that day."

It felt as though my heart had stopped. I brought my hands up to cover my ears and argued. "No! That isn't possible! If I died, then tell me, how am I speaking to you right now?!" I lowered my hands and started to grip the side of the metal table until my knuckles turned white.

With a gentle shrug, he kindly explained. "Just after you were brought in, I took a sample of your blood. And upon further inspection I was able to find some bizarre organisms." The Professor looked at me square in the eye, whispering as he did so. "Since then, I have taken several more samples...and in each sample those same organisms have been present."

I didn't want to believe a word that he was telling me. There was no way all of this could be real! He was lying! So shaking my head rapidly, I asked the first thing that popped into my mind. "Where is Father Nightroad?"

Taking another draw off of his pipe, he told me. "He's grieving. He's been in mourning since the moment that you died." He removed the pipe's mouthpiece from his lips and blowing out a cloud of smoke, he sighed. "Abel has been in great distress since he lost you, along with the knowledge of Noelle's betrayal."

Unwilling to take it anymore, I jumped from the table, and landing on my bare feet, I instantly noticed how unsteady my legs were. However it didn't matter to me, so as I chose to ignore my weaknesses I commanded my limbs to be strong. There was something more important that needed my attention. Something that I had to make right. I couldn't simply stand by idly as someone that I cared for hurt so needlessly. "Professor, I'm going to find Father Nightroad! I need to let him know that I'm okay!" With a smile and a wave, I ran past the middle aged priest, yelling over my shoulder as I got closer to the room's door. "Thanks for everything!"

Just as I exited the room, I heard the Professor ask a single question. "Could it be possible?"

Ignoring his inquiry, I ran as fast as I could. With every step that I took I pushed myself to quicken my speed. I had to find Abel. I had to let him see for himself that I was alive and well. In my haste, I ran past groups of people, and despite their looks of disapproval, I simply whispered under my breath. "I'm sorry."

The farther I travelled, I began to feel a burning sensation deep within my lungs, and when I finally decided to stop running, I found that I was standing outside of a small house of worship. The building's exterior was made up primarily of pieces of white stones, and holding it all together was a clean layer of mortar. As I walked up the stone steps to the entrance of the church, I stood on the tip end of my toes and peered through a window that placed in the door itself. Looking through the reflective sheen of the glass, I only saw my own green-yellow eyes staring back at me, but then cupping my hand around the side of my face, I squinted both of my eyes.

Silently scanning the interior of the building, I made the decision to enter once I saw that there were lights on inside.

Upon entry, I saw row after row of pews, and looking at the flooring I noticed that it had a black and white checkered pattern. Moving from the floor, I turned my gaze upwards. Beautiful stained glass windows, that were each decorated with ornate designs, left me feeling speechless. I watched in awe as the sunlight that was filtered the multicolored glass died and were reborn as sunbeams. At the head of the room stood a white pipe organ. Then finally, sitting in one of the pews that was closest to the organ, I saw the long silver-white hair that I knew belonged to Abel.

Seeing him before me, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had found him, and soon the pain that had taken over his heart would be alleviated. With a smile, I slowly began to approach the front of the room. My foot steps barely making a sound, and when I was a few feet away, I took another deep breath before whispering. "Father Nightroad?"

He gasped and froze as I spoke, then turning towards me, I noticed his face had a ghostly white hue. The eyes gaping at me were filled with fear and doubt. Tears silently fell onto his cheeks as I looked at him, and opening his mouth, he finally spoke. His voice sounding so broken. "Is this how I am to be punished for allowing her to meet such a grisly fate? Is this the Hell that I am to be faced with and forced to live in for not being able to save her? God, please forgive me...I understand that I got there too late...I understand that she was my responsibility...but please...I won't be able to bear it if her ghost haunts me..." Sobbing, he looked away from me.

I could feel my heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces and taking a few small steps closer I whispered. "Father Nightroad...I'm not a ghost." For a moment, I stopped to consider my words. "Father Wordsworth told me that he found something within my blood. He thinks that in the end, it saved my life..." Closing the gap between us, I knelt down next to Abel and reaching up, I began to wipe away his tears. "You needn't cry anymore, Father." Thinking back, I remembered the words that I had said on the night we had met. "Trust me, Father Nightroad, like I trust you."

Hearing these words, he finally turned back to look at me. His winter blue eyes now containing a faint glimmer of hope. "Jonah?"

I smiled and nod my head.

Abel quickly got to his feet and before I could act, he pulled me in close to his body. It felt as though he were attempting to protect me from an enemy that only he could see. As I gently began to wrap my arms around his torso, I could hear him whispering to himself. "Thank you! Oh Lord...thank you!" He pulled himself away from me and held me out at an arm's length away from him. "I thought that I had lost you forever. What happened? Why would Noelle attack you like that?"

Sadly shaking my head, I gave him the only answer that I could. "Father Wordsworth asked me the same thing, and...I'm sorry, Father. I'm afraid that I don't remember."

Looking at me, he quietly asked. "What's the last thing that you can remember?"

Searching through my memories, I thought out loud for him to hear. "Training with Sister Noelle...and that's it."

He smiled at me before pulling me back into a tight embrace. "It's all right, Jonah. It really is."

We eventually resorted to sitting down in the pews, and for a time, that's all we did. We simply sat in silence, enjoying one another's companionship. However, after a while, I looked down at the floor and asked. "Father Nightroad, what exactly did you see when you found me?"

Sighing deeply he whispered. "I saw you lying on the ground in a pool of your own blood...all the while Noelle simply stood there laughing. She stood by as three monstrous creatures circled around you. I didn't know what they were, nor did I care. At the moment...all that I felt coursing through me was a white-hot rage that was consuming me." He shook his head before continuing. "Something within me broke that day." Dropping his gaze down to his hands, he told me. "I'm not sure about what it was, but when I saw her behaving the way that she was...when I saw her laughing as you laid there bleeding to death...I shot her. I shot Noelle along with those monsters. Jonah, did I do the right thing?"

I wanted to reassure him that he had. "What you saw, couldn't have possibly been the whole story. Something else must have happened to her. If I start to remember anything else from that day, then you'll be the first person to hear of it."

Abel smiled. "Thank you." Silence fell over us once more, but a few minutes later he asked. "Earlier you mentioned that the Professor informed you that he found something in your blood? Did he give you any other information about what it was?"

Shaking my head, I replied. "No. If there was anything else about it that he knew, he didn't say. And besides..." I felt myself blush, my words coming out as a whisper. "I kind of left in a hurry once he told me that you were mourning my death. I couldn't just sit there and continue to let you think that I was gone." I felt Abel wrap his arm around my shoulder, and as I rest my arm against the side of his chest, I wondered out loud. "Could it be possible that he had more that he needed to tell me? And to think, I ran off before he had the chance. Should I go back and talk with him?"

Feeling his movement, I looked over and saw him nodding. "I'd say that's the best thing that you could do for now. Hopefully you'll learn more about whatever it is that saved your life."

We both stood up and giggling, I joked. "Who knows, Father? Maybe this is the ability that you said I had...the one that would be mine and mine alone."

I could tell that he was intrigued by my notion, but placing a hand on my shoulder he warned. "That may or may not be true, but let's not test this theory of yours until we know for sure."

Together we headed in the direction towards the morgue, which was the last place that I had seen the Professor. The entire way, I kept noticing Abel watching after me with a protective eye. As we got closer to our destination, I began to call out. "Professor? I found Father Nightroad and I told him what you said. Professor?"

In the entrance to the morgue, we waited. There was no sign of Father Wordsworth, but as we took a few steps into the room, we looked around. Craning our necks trying to catch a glimpse of the Professor. Finally Abel tried calling out. "Professor, we're here to speak with you!"

At this, the Professor poked his head out from behind a corner. "Oh? Father Abel and Jonah, so it was the two of you making all of that ruckus?" He walked towards us and sat down in the same chair he had earlier and looking at me, guessed. "I can only surmise that you're here to learn more about what I told you?"

Abel and I both sat down in chairs that were placed across from the Professor's, and as I nod my head, I replied. "I am. Professor, is there a way for you to find out what it is that you found in my blood? It's left me feeling rather...curious. After all, those who are dead don't normally come back to life."

Sitting deep in thought, he pulled out his pipe, placed the mouthpiece in between his teeth then nodding his head, spoke. "I have a few theories. However, the one that seems to be the most plausible to me at this time, will require you to give me a fresh blood sample." He went from looking at me, over to Abel. "I'll need blood samples from the both of you."

Father Nightroad looked confused. "Why do you need to have my blood, Professor?"

Blowing out a puff of smoke, the Professor met Abel's question with assurance. "If my theory is correct, then all will be answered soon enough. Now Jonah, I'll get a blood sample from you first." He got up from his seat and seeing me do the same, he told me. "No need to go anywhere. I'll be right back." He proceeded to walk over to a cabinet that had been hung u on the back wall. Opening the cabinet's door, he began grabbing miscellaneous medical supplies and replaced them back into a medical basin. After a few minutes had passed, he came back over and rejoined Abel and myself.

I leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of the conglomeration of supplies that the Professor had collected. In the silence, I watched as he pulled out a small needle, a rubber tourniquet and an empty glass vial, which was still sealed.

With the vial in his hand, Father Wordsworth passed it over to Abel and instructed. "Here, you can go ahead and get this ready while I sterilize the site."

Abel nod his head and began to break the seal on the vial.

The Professor reached over to the basin and grabbed a white cotton ball and a bottle of antiseptic, and as he opened the bottle he told me. "Now that you're fully awake, this may sting a bit." He poured some of the antiseptic onto the cotton, and gently grabbing hold of my wrist, he extended my arm out and began to disinfect the skin in the crook of my left arm.

The disinfectant was cold on my skin, but it didn't bother me too much.

When he was finished with the cotton ball, he set it aside, along with the bottle. Then taking hold of the rubber tourniquet, he tied it around my lower bicep. "Okay, now make a tight fist."

I did as I had been told and clenched my hand closed.

Nodding, he picked up the needle from the table he had set it on, and carefully removed the protective sheath from the needle itself. Then slowly, he stuck the needle into the vein beneath my skin.

As I watched the needle pierce my flesh, I noticed a tiny pinching sensation. Yet again, it didn't bother me much.

Once he was ready, the Professor reached over his shoulder. "Okay, Abel. I'm ready for the vial." The instant that he felt the smooth, glossy surface of the vial against the palm of his hand, he wrapped his fingers around it and quickly slid the vial where the plunger for the syringe would have been. The last thing that he did was untie the tourniquet and calmly said. "And relax your hand."

As I unclenched my fist, I watched as dark red blood immediately began to fill the vial.

Blood had filled about half of the glass tube before I saw the Professor pick up a fresh cotton ball and gingerly pulling out the needle, he pressed the cotton ball over the tiny puncture wound. "All right, all you need to do is hold this here for a few minutes."

With my fingers pressing the cotton ball down, I asked. "Is that everything?"

He retrieved the lid that had been taken off of the vial, which now contained my blood, from Abel, and laughing said. "Almost. It's Father Nightroad's turn." Replacing the lid back onto the vial, he reached over and disposed of the needle that had been used on me. Then taking the second vial, he gave it to me and turning his attention to Abel, he said. "Just do as Abel did and remove the lid. Now I'm going to need you to remove your overcoat and for you to roll up your sleeve."

I broke the seal on Abel's vial, and watched as he shrugged off his overcoat, and as he neatly set it on the floor next to his feet, he began working on the buttons that fastened the sleeve of his cassock. As he managed to undo the buttons, he rolled his sleep up so that it was now between his shoulder and elbow. When he was done, he looked over at me and smiled nervously. "Believe it or not, I don't like needles."

Not hearing Father Nightroad's words, the Professor immediately set to work the moment that Abel's sleeve was out of his way. He poured the antiseptic onto a cotton ball and rubbed it on the skin. As the cold cotton touched his arm, Abel reflexively shivered. After he was finished with the cotton, he exchanged it out for the rubber tourniquet and tying it around where it needed to be, he instructed. "All right, Abel. Make a fist."

At the request, he complied and watched as the Professor removed the protective covering from the needle. Carefully, the needle's point was lined up with the vein, and when he was ready, he poked the tip into the skin. Abel flinched and quietly whined. "Ouch. That hurt."

The Professor sighed. "You're an adult, Abel. You will survive. Okay, Jonah." He looked at me and I gave him the vial that I had been holding onto. After he put the vial where it needed to be, he undid the tourniquet. "And relax."

I watched as Abel relaxed the muscles in his left arm, and as blood began to fill the vial, the pulse that pumped through my veins picked up in speed. I began to feel an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach, and it forced me to look away.

Abel, who saw this, asked me with much concern within his voice. "Jonah?"

I shook my head, trying to play my actions off completely. "Sorry, Father. I just felt a little nauseous. Don't worry."

By this time, Abel's blood had filled the second vial to the half way point, and pulling the needle out, the Professor pressed a new cotton ball against Abel's skin, just as he had done to me. Then with the vial in his hand, the took the lid from me without a word and put it back into place. From the table, he picked up my vial of blood and went to the back of the room.

Abel looked over at me and shaking my head, I gave him a wry smile and followed the Professor. At the back of the room, I saw him grabbing petri dishes from an open drawer, and as he set them up in a straight line on the counter top, he whispered. "So the moment of truth. Jonah, I'm going to add a drop of your blood into the first petri dish, then I'll add a drop of Abel's into the second. We're going to watch and see how the two samples will react indiviually. And then based on the results, we'll act accordingly."

Both Abel and I nod our heads as if we had actually understood what the Professor was talking about.

With a firm grip on the first vial, the Professor removed the lid and poured a small portion into the petri dish. We all watched and waited to see if anything happened, but when it didn't, he exchanged the first vial for the second. Taking off the lid, Abel's blood was poured into the second dish. And immediately, all three of us noticed the result. Abel's blood acted of its own free will, and it seemed to be agitated by something. It began to creep towards the petri dish that contained some of my blood.

I watched in horror as Abel's blood continuously made attempts to attack my blood. "What is this? Professor...what's happening?"

As I asked my questions, Abel chose to remain silent.

The Professor then turned to me, and said. "It's exactly what I theorized would happen." He turned back to the blood samples and pouring more of my blood into the third and final dish, he topped it off with some of Abel's blood.

Unrestricted, Abel's blood began to consume mine.

Gasping, I looked at Abel and asked. "Father Nightroad? What does this mean?"

Refusing to witness any more of the events occurring on the counter, Abel turned away and whispered, remorse coating his every word. "The Crusnik's nano-machines that are found in my blood are being drawn to something that's in you...and the Crusnik only desires one thing...that thing is known as the Kudlak Bacillus."

I could feel my eyes growing wide, and grabbing hold of Abel's hand in desperation, I begged. "Kudlak Bacillus?! Father...what does that mean?!"

Abel looked at me, with so much sadness in his eyes, and quietly he whispered. "Jonah...it means that you are at least half Methuselah."


	11. Faith Restored to the Lost

Chapter 11: Faith Restored to the Lost

Slowly the realization of the what I had just been told began to take over me, and releasing my hold on Abel's hand, I willed myself to repeat his words within my mind. I forced myself to hear my prognosis said in my own voice. _"I'm...I'm half Methuselah?"_ I shook my head, denying the words any further access into my thoughts, tears began to fall onto my cheeks. Then finally, I decided to speak out loud, muttering in defiance. "No! No...it's not...it can't be possible..." With these parting words, I pushed my way past Abel and began to run away from both him and the Professor.

Behind me, I heard Abel calling out to me. "Jonah, wait!"

As I fled from the morgue, I could barely hear the Professor whisper. "Just leave her be for right now, Abel. She'll come to you when she feels that she is ready."

What the Professor had said might have been true. However, at that exact moment, I didn't care about anything. I felt like I had been betrayed. As if I had been stabbed in the back and then lied to about it. I retreated back into my mind and thought back to my childhood. To all of the memories that I had ever made during my life. I couldn't help but to question whether any of these memories had ever been real. My thoughts transitioned to my parents. Were they actually my parents...or were they just lies too? Scowling, I forced myself to run faster. My want and need for solitude and solace were becoming an ever present shadow that loomed over me. The feelings I felt continuously growing stronger as the now eternal seconds passed away before me.

When I found myself standing at the door that led into my room, I simply stared at the wooden door. Unfamiliar visions flooding into my mind. I saw Sister Noelle standing outside of my door, waiting for me. I then heard her voice within my mind. _"Jonah! Just the person I was looking for."_

Looking at the ground, I whispered with vehemence in my words. "I'm sorry, Sister Noelle, but I am afraid that I can't help you right now." I shook Noelle's image from my thoughts and entered the room.

It was very much the same as it had been the first time that I had seen it. The only difference now was that there was a standing mirror setting in one of the corners.

My eyes instantly became glued onto the mirror and with a small amount of hesitation, I walked over to it and really took a good look at myself for the first time in what felt like years.

I was still wearing the white shirt and long pajama pants, the habit that I had been wearing for the last four months was no where to be seen. I noticed that my brown hair, which was already long to begin with, had grown several more inches and now reached my waist. As I worked my line of sight further up on my body, I began to see more slight changes in my appearance. On the left side of my neck, which I remembered was where the Professor had said I had been injured, I saw a long white mark. Running the fingers on my right hand down the line, I felt it and could tell that it was slightly raised up above the rest of my skin. I quickly realized that it was a fairly fresh scar and jerking my hand away, looking at anything other than the scar. So glancing at my face, I saw that my complexion was the same as it had been before, and finally I looked at the rest of my face as a whole. My green-yellow eyes staring back at me.

Frozen by a fresh fear, I leaned closer to the mirror and gently pressed a finger to the skin just below my eye and pulled down lightly. I began to scream inside of my thoughts. _"What is this? My eyes are green! Green!"_ I then remembered staring into the window of the church where I had found Abel just a few hours prior. I had seen green-yellow eyes staring back at me then as well, I had just been in so much of a hurry to find Father Nightroad...I must not paid any attention to it.

Standing back up straight, I glared at my own reflection. I no longer looked like myself. And I felt terrified because of it. As I stood there, I began to feel an undiluted rage start to stem deep from within and wash over me. Clutching my hands into tight fists at my sides, I could feel them shaking from all of my anger. So much that I decided to use all of my hatred to my advantage. I began to accuse the person looking back at me. "This is all of your fault! I did nothing to deserve any of this! I was happy!" As I yelled, so did my opponent. I felt like I was being mocked. Then looking down at my trembling right fist, I raised it up and on eye level, I looked at it almost as if it were the first time that I were actually seeing it. Finally, I pulled my arm back and began to unleash all of my pent-up emotions.

All of my sadness. All of my anger. All of my loneliness. Everything. I started to take it all out on the lie that stood before me. With every blow that the mirror took, shards of glass flew in every direction all around me, and just before I shattered the final section of the mirror that remained, I saw it. The sharpened tips of what looked like fangs protruding down past my upper lip. Blood eventually began to appear and smeared across the wooden backing of the mirror. The blood coming from where my knuckles had been cut by the glass shards. But I couldn't bring myself to stop. There were still so many emotions that remained within me, and though I had shattered the reflection that had been standing before me, I felt no better. I still felt as if I had been deceived.

As an unstoppable sea of tears began to break through an invisible floodgate, I covered my face with my bloodied hands and slowly sank down to the floor. Blood, from my wounds on my right hand, dripped onto the white shirt that I wore. I ignored it all and sobbed out in pain.

Pain from my heart breaking. As the world that I had thought I knew slowly began to fade away right in front of my very eyes.

Instinctively, I curled myself up into a ball. I wanted to try and preserve any ounce of my former humanity that might still yet remain within the confines that was now my damned soul.

Broken, I whispered out loud to myself. "I'm a monster...and everything that I've ever done in my life has all been for nothing! After all...the future that I was striving for no longer exists..." I pulled my hands away from my face and with wide eyes, said. "I'm now the enemy..."

Coming to this realization, I heard a gentle knock coming from the other side of my shut door. It was then followed by Abel's voice. "Jonah? Jonah, are you in here?" I watched as the handle slowly turned and as the door began to open, I felt trembles resonate all throughout my body. Then after what seemed like forever, Abel finally took a step into my room. When he saw it, his eyes drifted from the shards of broken glass strewn all across the floor over to me, sitting in the middle of it all, blood dripping from my hand. He stared at me in shock.

Seeing Abel, I slowly began to crawl away from him. Using my hands to pull me backwards, while I used my feet to push against the floor.

Watching me behave so fearfully, the expression that overcame Abel's face wasn't one of anger or disgust, but rather it was one of pity. He walked over to the bed in the room and taking the cream colored sheets in his hands, he began to tear away a long strip of the fabric. Then with the fabric in hand, he turned back to face me, sadly whispering. "You needn't be afraid." He walked closer to me, and kneeling down he slowly reached out and took my injured hand into his own.

I sat in silence as Abel began to wrap the piece of cream colored cloth around my hand.

"Jonah, I know exactly what it is that you're going through. Believe me...I know that it hurts. I know that you feel as though you're all alone in this world...but the truth is..." He finished tying the cloth around my wound, then gently he began to grip onto my hand, and tilting his head up, with his winter blue eyes looking at me, he continued to speak. "The truth of the matter is, Jonah, you are far from being alone. Trust me when I say that there are still people in this world who care about you. Who wish that they could take all of this pain that you feel away from you. But there is something that I feel as though you need to understand...turning your back on everything and everyone around you won't help to solve any of this."

Sniffling, I gently pulled away from Abel's grip and wiped my face with the back of my now bandaged hand. Then taking it from my cheeks, I saw that blood was now smeared onto the once pure cloth. "What can I do then, Father? I know nothing about myself...I don't understand why I was born...everything that I thought I knew, it all ended up being nothing but a giant lie."

Abel sighed and asked. "And what of all the things that I have told you? Do you believe those to be lies as well?" When I didn't respond, he began to look genuinely hurt. "They weren't lies, Jonah. Every word that I have said to you has been nothing short of the truth."

Looking at him, I nod my head.

With a warm smile, Abel went on to further reassure me. "You do know that I still intend to be there right alongside you every step of the way, don't you?"

Donning a feeble smile of my own, I whispered. "Thank you, Father Nightroad."

He got back to his feet and extended a hand out to me, as he pulled me up onto my own feet, he said. "Now that that's all done. I need for you to come with me." Seeing the fear that instantly came flooding back into my eyes, he laughed quietly and went on to say. "It's nothing bad, trust me. I just need for you to see something."

I hesitantly followed Abel and once we were out into the hallway, I silently shut the door behind me. Blocking the room that I had left in shambles away from the view of the rest of the world. After which, I began to walk with Father Nightroad at a casual pace.

"Do you remember what I told you when you asked me about what the A.X. was?" He saw me give a slight nod of my head, and continued speaking. "Well there is actually more to the story than what I had originally told you. In the grand scheme of everything that we do in the world, what the A.X. truly offers, to those who would otherwise feel unwanted, is a place where they feel as though they belong." Abel started to make slight gestures with his hands as he attempted to explain a few things to me as I walked next to him.

I shift my gaze down to my feet and asked. "So what does that mean, Father? That I should suddenly feel at home? That I should feel comfortable living as the only Methuselah among a throng of humans?" I sighed.

Abel shook his head. "Jonah, you're not listening to me and please use the term Terran from now on. But what I'm trying to tell you is that the A.X. is comprised of those who, if presented to a normal society, could be viewed as being misfits."

When we stopped walking, I found that we were standing outside of a closed mahogany door that I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen before. And as Abel opened the door, he offered for me to be the first to enter. So stepping into the room, I saw that it was Cardinal Sforza's office. This had been the first room that I had seen on the day that I had arrived to the Vatican.

The beautiful Cardinal sat at her desk, and in front of her stood two small groups of people. One group consisted of three people while the other had four.

Abel shut the door behind him as he made his way into the room, and I watched as he went over to join the group of three.

Finally the two groups formed themselves into two uniform lines. In the first I saw Father Tres, a priest with long black hair whom I had never officially met, Terina and then Father Nightroad.

In the second line there stood the Professor, a woman that I could only assume was Sister Kate, Elma and Esther.

Cardinal Caterina stood up and gracefully walked over to me. "Father Nightroad informed us that you were alive the moment that he could." She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, adding a dash of compassion into her voice. "He also informed us about how it is that you managed to survive. Sister Jonah, I would like to convey to you a promise. That as long as you are a part of the A.X. you will be treated in the same manner as any of my other agents are."

I looked at her in confusion.

As she saw this, Caterina spoke with authority. "Sister Jonah Turner, from this moment forward, you are hereby officially one of my agents. You will receive missions that you will be expected to complete with as much discretion as possible. You are to report to me when you have the results of these missions. Am I understood?" Though she spoke with authority, there was an unmistakable kindness to her words.

Shocked, I nod my head. "Yes, ma'am. I understand."

She went back to her desk and sat down, turning her gaze over to Abel. "Father Nightroad, since this was your idea, you may lead the way."

Smiling, he stepped forward. "Thank you, Miss Caterina." He walked over to me and began to talk. "Now, Jonah, as I was telling you while on the way here, everyone who is a member of the A.X. has a quality or an ability that makes them unique when compared to others in the world." He stood directly behind me, saying. "You already know what makes me unique. You saw that part of me the first time that we me. Yet everyone else..." Gesturing from one line of people to the other, he went on to say. "They have yet to properly introduce themselves to you." Abel looked at Tres and prompted. "Okay, Tres, would you care to tell Jonah a little about yourself?"

Father Tres turned to look at me, his appearance was the same as it always seemed to be. His hazel brown hair was cropped short, his short bangs were spiked up slightly. The eyes looking at me were just as emotionless as his was when he began to speak, his words sounding mono-toned. "Positive, Father Abel Nightroad. I am Father Tres Iques. My proper production name is HC-IIIX. My codename is Gunslinger. I am a mechanical infantryman, meaning that I am not human. I am a machine."

This was the most that I had ever heard Tres say at one time, and feeling the shock that I now knew he never would, I whispered. "Thank you, Father Tres."

The Professor, with his sea foam pipe securely wedged between his teeth, was the next to speak. "Father William Walter Wordsworth, at your service. Although, as you already know, most simply just choose to call me Professor. I've got no special skills when it comes to fighting. Nor do I possess any superhuman abilities, like some of the other A.X. agents do...but at the end of the day, I serve as the brain of the A.X." He smiled smugly before going on to explain. "Most of the equipment that is used within the A.X., including but not being limited to the battle airship the Iron Maiden II, have been designed by me."

I smiled politely and nod my head in respect when the Professor had finished speaking. It had never occurred to me that he did so much for the rest of the team.

The priest with the long black hair turned to face me, and looking at him, I saw the short stubble of a mustache and beard all along his upper lip and chin. "I am Father Vaclav Havel, and my codename is Know Faith. Today is the first time that I feel we've been allowed to meet up close." He smiled and placed his right hand over top his heart. "Many years ago, while I was still a part of the Inquisitorial Department, I made the decision to become a mechanized solider. By doing this, most of my body has been replaced with mechanical parts. The day that my new life began, I was also implanted with a piece of technology that would grant me the ability of invisible camouflage. It might also be worth mentioning that I'm a master of the martial arts."

Hearing the story of how he had become the man that stood before me now, I smiled warmly. ""It's a pleasure to meet you, Father Havel."

Next, the woman that I thought could be no one other than Sister Kate began to speak, confirming my suspicions. "We finally meet face to face. My name is Sister Kate Scott." Her voice was kind. She had medium length blonde hair, while her eyes were a clear blue. A beauty mark was visible just below her left eye. Looking at her, I noticed a faint light flickering all through her body, and I realized that I was looking at a hologram. Smiling, Kate began to explain. "While I was still a student attending the University of Rome, I was the victim of an incident that left me paralyzed and, for the most part, brain dead." She folded her hands over her stomach. "But thanks to the power of science, and because of the technology that existed at the time, I was given the ability to cast a holographic projection of myself out into the world. My codename is Iron Maiden, and thus it is my responsibility to transport agents to and from mission sites in the Iron Maiden II. I also provide those agents with backup should they ever need it."

In my mind, I thought about how sad Sister Kate's story had been, but I couldn't deny the fact that she looked happy. So smiling, I whispered. "Thank you, Sister."

After this, Terina instantly began to speak. "In a sense, I am a witch. I have the ability of dark energy manipulation, which can potentially be a dangerous practice. Over time, it will eventually do irreversible damage to both my body and my mind. But if that's the price that I have to pay in order to do what I need to, then so be it." Her violet eyes finally drifted over to where I stood. "I can also use negative energy to manifest powerful emotions within the hearts of my enemies."

As soon as Terina finished speaking, Elma followed suit. "Just like my older sister, I too am a witch. However I have the ability of light energy manipulation. The only risk of this is that one day I could become overwhelmed by the energy that flows all throughout me, but it's okay. My powers allow me to heal those who have been hurt around me." She smiled sweetly. "I can also manifest positive energy, and I often use that energy to help my friends."

What I had just been told explained so much. "So the day that I ran into you..."

Elma nodded her head knowingly. "I used positive energy to lift your spirits, and Terina knew that she couldn't touch you without severely amplifying your emotions."

Feeling thankful for the two sisters, I smiled confessing. "You really are complete opposites aren't you?"

Finally, Esther's turn to speak came. "I don't have any abilities or skills, but others have called me the Star of Hope in the past."

Nodding my head, I heard Cardinal Caterina begin to address me. "Sister Jonah, there are still a couple of agents that you have yet to meet. Father Hugue de Watteau and Father Leon Garsia de Asturias." She readjusted the monocle that she wore over her right eye. "I hope that you will be granted the opportunity of meeting the both of them one day soon."

Becoming happier as the time went by, I replied to my superior. "I look forward to meeting the both of them, your Eminence."

Abel placed a hand on my shoulder and smiling, asked. "So are you feeling any better about things?"

I nod my head once, asking as a thought entered into my mind. "I am. But I have a question. What was Sister Noelle's ability?"

Everyone in the room remained silent, and eventually Terina was the one to respond. "Much like Elma and myself, Sister Noelle's ability revolved around human emotions. But unlike us, she was able to visibly see the emotions that others felt. She could see them in the way that we're able to see color."

In my mind I wondered. _"What did Sister Noelle see when she looked at me?"_ Yet all that came out of my mouth was, "I see."

A moment passed and Caterina began to speak once more. "Are there any further questions that you would like to ask while we are all here?"

Swallowing nervously, I nod my head. "There actually is one thing that I can think of. But it's not so much a question as it is a request."

Caterina smiled at me, asking as she did so. "Then what is your request?"

I forced myself to look the Cardinal in the eye before saying. "If it's possible...I'd like to learn a few things about myself. I want to know where I'm actually from. I want to know if my parents are who they've led me to think of them as. I need to know the truth."

As Cardinal Sforza closed her eyes, she whispered. "I think that can all be arranged."


	12. A New Beginning

Chapter 12: A New Beginning

It was at that very moment, when Cardinal Caterina's words truly sank into my brain, that it became official. I was now a permanent A.X. agent. All of the thoughts that I'd had previously during the day, began to wash away from my mind. My life still held onto some purpose within itself. My soul, which I assumed had been damned to be trapped within the darkness, still desperately grasped on tightly to the light. Silently, I thought to myself. _"Not everything is as it seems, I guess."_ Quietly, I began to chuckle.

Abel, who continued to stand protectively next to me, looked upon my renewed faith with fondness. Just from his expression alone I could tell that he knew that, from that moment onward, I was going to be all right. And I had to agree with him.

As the others, who were still gathered in the Cardinal's office, chatted contently amongst themselves, I leaned my head back and rested it against the wall behind me. The pain from the wound on my right hand had, by this time, almost completely vanished. "Father...I'd like to thank you. Even though I had already accepted my fate...you chose to not give up on me. You even went so far as to go well out of your way to prove to me that I still had something to live for. I feel as though there's something that I should do so that I can finally repay you for all of your kindness..."

Ever so gently, I felt him poke my side with the tip of one of his fingers, and as I giggled he whispered. "Hearing the sound of your laughter again is honestly all the repayment that I could ever possibly ask for."

Laughing again, I replied, my voice hushed. "If that's the case, then I'll try to laugh as much as I can." I looked at the floor, softening my gaze. "But before I can do that, I would like to tell you that I'm sorry. These past few days...I've caused you to worry so much."

Once again, just as he had done so many other times before, Abel pulled me in close by his side. "Not everything is your fault, Jonah. What happened with Noelle, and the events that occurred earlier today...those are things that were out of your control." While he spoke, his calm tone of voice quickly swept away the remaining doubts that lingered and plagued my mind. "Remember, learning that you're actually a Methuselah is going to change your life forever. You'll have to rely on others, since you will become limited to the things that you can do during the day time."

I nod my head. "It only makes sense after all."

My words confused him. "What do you mean? What makes sense?"

As I tilt my head back to look up at Abel, I whispered. "That my actions should be limited to the darkness. This journey of mine, it all began during the night, remember?" Sighing, I revisited the night that seemed to have happened a full lifetime ago. "I was asleep in my bed, then I heard it. The sound of you and Father Tres busting down the front door. At the time, I had been afraid. And I wish now that I had known that I shouldn't have been so scared." With a tiny laugh, I continued to speak. "I considered the possibility of trying to run." Gently resting my head against his side, I confessed. "I'm glad that I didn't."

A few yards from where Abel and I stood, Elma and Terina talked with one another, and it appeared to me that the younger of the two girls, had grown a few inches taller since the first time I had met them.

While they spoke, I couldn't catch the words that were exchanged between them, but seeing the way that they were dressed and looking down at my own clothes, I asked. "Father, what happened to my uniform? Why didn't I see it back in my room?"

He thought for a while, then sighing, he finally told me about what had happened. "It was completely saturated in your blood. And we realized that we wouldn't be able to salvage any of the material in order to make a new dress, so..." He took a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, his composure changing when he carried on speaking. "Well it doesn't matter. Cardinal Sforza has already placed a request to have a uniform custom made for you." Touching his finger to his lips for a moment, he thought. "If I'm not mistaken, and let's be honest...most of the time I am...but that's something you should have to take care of tomorrow morning."

I started to nod my head but abruptly stopped and groaned. Remembering the state that I had left my room in, and with my forehead resting in the palm of my hand, muttered. "Tomorrow...right." I sighed. "Father, I need to go and clean my room up. I guess I'll just see you later." As I started to walk away, I sadly whispered to myself. "And to think...there's just so much glass."

From behind me, I heard Abel say. "Jonah, hold on. I'll go with you, but before we go anywhere, don't you think that you ought to speak with her Eminence?"

Turning around slowly, I saw that he was already in the midst of taking a step to follow after me. His winter blue eyes looking at me. "You do realize that I'm only going to clean up the mess that **I** made, right?"

Walking the short distance, he came and stood in front of me. "Oh, I understood what you meant. I only thought that things would maybe go by just a tiny bit faster if I were to accompany you." He smiled innocently at me, and chuckled quietly. "So you don't mind if I decide to tag along, do you?"

The unusually kind priest, who was standing before me, never ceased to amaze my mind. And unable to think of the right words to say, I resorted to simply nodding my head once.

Enthused by my most simple gesture, Abel beamed. "Excellent! But as I mentioned a moment ago, there's just one small thing that's left for us to attend to before we can leave." I watched as he turned away from me and headed in the direction of the Cardinal. "Miss Caterina?"

Instantly she looked up at the sound of Abel's voice and responded to his words. "Yes? What is it that you need, Father Nightroad?" As she spoke, I could sense a certain level of affection hidden deep within her voice.

And either he was choosing to ignore the Cardinal's tone, or he simply hadn't noticed it, but motioning towards me, he began to explain the reason for our premature departure. Yet I couldn't catch his exact words.

Turning her attention to me, Cardinal Sforza looked somewhat concerned. "Sister Jonah?"

At the mention of my name, I stood up straight. My concentration becoming fully restored. "Uh, yes ma'am?"

Caterina wasted no time before she asked her question. "Father Nightroad has just told me that before he could find you...that you'd managed to hurt your hand. Is this correct?"

I blushed in embarrassment and holding up my bandaged right hand, I whispered. "Just a...just a bit, your Eminence. But please don't worry. I was just on my way to go and clean up the mess that I made. So I apologize." With my words, I curtsied, suddenly feeling awkward in the clothes that I wore.

Her rose colored lips turned up into a smile, just before she issued me with a word of caution. "Just remember from now on to be more careful in the future. You may be more hardy than some of the others here, but please understand that does not mean that it makes you completely indestructible. Please bear that in mind."

Nodding, I responded. "Of course. Now if you will excuse me, ma'am." I turned and began walking over to the door that led out into the hallway. Behind me, I listened to the sound of Abel walking and glancing over to my right, I watched as he worked at matching his pace up with mine. I had to resist the urge to shake my head and laugh. Seeing my reaction to his carefree antics, I heard him chuckle softly, continuing to try and think of ways to break through my calm serenity. Yet all that he managed to get out of me was a single shake of my head.

Outside in the hallway, Abel sighed as he shut the door behind him. Then as he turned to look at me, he teased. "You know that it's okay if you smile and have fun in front of her, right? Just because she's our boss, that doesn't mean that she can't understand the importance of having a good time every now and then." He watched as I looked back at him with my now foreign eyes. With his hand on my shoulder, he said. "I know that you're afraid to mess up, but that isn't something that you need to worry about right now. So, Jonah...just relax."

Listening to his words, I slowly exhaled the breath that I had been holding onto within my lungs. "Relax." As I smirked a bit, I laughed quietly. "I'll be able to relax once things are back to being normal." We started to walk to my room, and I amended my previous statement, but only just loud enough for him to hear. "Although, I understand that normal won't be the same now as it used to be. I'll eventually figure it out though."

Ducking his head down low, as he continued to walk next to me, he attempted to look me in the eyes, replying to me. "I'm sure that you will. But remember, that if you find yourself becoming disheartened that you can count of m-"

Smiling at him, I said the words before he could. "I know that I can count on you, Father Nightroad. Trust me. I fully realize that now."

Nodding his head, we continued on our way towards the mess that awaited me.

When the door was in sight, I remembered what I had seen earlier during the day, along with the promise that I had made to Abel. "Father Nightroad?" I stopped walking and when he saw this, Abel stopped walking as well. "Do you remember how I promised to tell you if I ever managed to recall anything that happened before I..." Unable to bring myself to say the word, I shrugged and settled for simply continuing on. "Well...you know. But after I left the morgue, right when I got here." I pointed at the floor beneath my feet. "I remembered something. It wasn't a lot...but I honestly do think that it was a memory."

With his full attention on me, Abel became more serious and gently pushed me for more information. "Go on?"

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to relive the memory once again. "Noelle...she was waiting outside of my room for me. She said that I had been the person that she'd been looking for." I exited the memory and opening my eyes back up, I looked at Abel as we stood in the current moment. "For now, that's all that I've been able to retain."

Becoming less somber, he reminded me. "That's okay, Jonah. It'll come back to you eventually. Just give it a little more time." He rested his hand on my back and guided me over to the door. Once there, he opened it for me.

The moment that I laid my eyes on the miniature act of God that was my room, I groaned. "Why did I have to make so much of a mess of things?"

Abel laughed. "Well I can only imagine that it's because you were angry. Now come on." He ushered me in through the doorway. "This mess isn't going to clean itself up."

As I stood staring at all of the shards of broken glass, with Abel by my side, I placed my hands on my hips and asked the most important question of my life. "Right. So Father...where might I find a broom and a dustpan?"

At my inquiry, he left the room and walked over to a shut door that was across from mine. Watching as he twisted the door's handle and pulled it open, I could see that the room was a small supply closet. He reached inside, and reemerging, he had in his hands the very tools that I was needing. "Voila." Coming back into the room, he bowed as he offered the two objects for me to take.

I laughed as I watched what he was doing, and retrieving the tools, I said. "Merci beaucoup."

Seeming to be impressed, Abel asked. "So you can speak French?"

Lightly blushing, I shook my head. "I admit that I was raised in the Kingdom of Franc, but no. Not really. Both of my parents were English, so that was the language that I ended up learning as I grew. I only ever managed to pick up a few things here and there, but it was never much." I knelt down on the floor and began to sweep up the glass shards with the broom and into the dustpan. My movements were slow yet precise so that I wouldn't miss any of the debris.

While I went about my chores, Abel sat down on my bed. Then with his eyes on me, he ventured to keep the conversation going. "You've only ever mentioned your parents a few times. I'm interested in knowing what they're like."

The topic didn't really surprise me, since I had always assumed that it would have eventually come up. So with a small sigh, I began to tell Abel what he wanted to hear. "They're great. Amanda, who is my mom, loves music along with the arts. She'd always try and teach me how to sing and dance. She would always do this whenever she had the spare time. It didn't matter to her what the music's genre was, as long as she felt that the melody was worthwhile, she'd have me learn it. As for dancing, she was content with what I did as long as my movements matched the tempo of the song." My gaze remained on the task at hand, and I felt myself blush once more. "I can't really say that I ever got to be that good at these things, but I remember singing and dancing with my mom all the time as a kid."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the smile that was on Abel's face. "I would have really loved to have been able to see that. Perhaps, one day you could possibly sing for me?" His interest in my former hobbies peaked when he had an idea. "Could you sing for me once you've finished in here?" I finally looked up, my face burning hot with embarrassment. Then Abel playfully shut one of his eyes and went onto say. "I've actually got a piece of ancient technology that plays music. I found it while out on an assignment a few years ago and the Professor got it working for me." He fell silent and thinking for a second, whispered. "It's called a radio. And before the Armageddon, back before this ongoing battle between the Terran and the Methuselah ever began, people would use it to listen to music as a form of entertaining themselves. Every now and then, I can get it to pick up a radio signal...but Jonah? If I can get it to work tonight, would you please sing for me?"

I didn't know how to respond to his request. It had been years since I had last done any vocal practice with my mom, let alone actually attempt to sing anything for real. But looking at the sheer amount of hopefulness in his eyes, I relented before I could even try and protest. "Fine. But just know that I have a few rules. Rule one. Don't make fun of me if I mess up, okay? It's been a long time, and I'm afraid that I might be more than just a little rusty. Then rule two. Don't expect a lot. I'll be doing good if I can coax myself to sing a line or two." Getting back to work, I whispered. "I suffer from a terrible amount of stage fright. It's the reason that my mom stopped teaching me new songs..."

As he beamed at me with enthusiasm, Abel reassured me that my fears were more than uncalled for. "Do you honestly think that I could have it in my heart to make fun of you? But I understand. I sometimes feel so fearful when it comes to delivering my expense reports to Cardinal Caterina..." I heard him make an exaggerated shiver and I giggled. When he had recovered, he probed me for more information. "Okay so we've discussed your mom. Now how about your dad? What was he like?"

Sweeping a small mound of broken mirror fragments into the dustpan, I said. "My dad's name is David, and for as long as I can remember, he's always been the type of man who enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. He was always the happiest when he had a new book to read held in his hands, or while he was cooking a meal for the three of us. He always preferred staying home, whereas mom wanted to travel." I sighed and noticed that I had almost completed cleaning up the glass in the room. "Father, I'm almost done. Can you show me where there's a trash can? I need to get all of these shattered memories once and for all."

Getting to his feet, he nod his head. "Of course I will. There are a few along the way from your room to mine."

I felt my arms start to tremble. "Yo-your room? Why would we need to go there?"

Laughing, he nod his head again. "Don't be nervous, Jonah." He playfully waggled his finger at me. "But yes. We'll need to stop by my room. If you're going to attempt singing for me, then I'll need to go and get the radio that I mentioned earlier. After that, I thought we could go out to the courtyard and sit, since by then, the sun should be down far enough that it won't hurt you. Does that sound okay?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I smiled. "If that's the case, then it sounds like a great idea, Father Nightroad." As I spoke, I finished sweeping up the last remnants of glass pieces. "There! And finished. Or at least it'll have to do for right now." Standing back up, with my borrowed dustpan in hand, I grabbed the room by the handle. I smiled at Abel, who walked over and opened the door for me. Out in the hall, I returned the broom to the supply closet.

Behind me, Father Abel waited patiently for me next to my door. When I was ready, he led the way. As we passed by a few windows, I ventured to look out, my eyes were instantly greeted by the view of the twilight sky up above. Continuing down the corridor, I eventually found a trash can, which I promptly emptied the contents of the dustpan into. Then when the thought occurred to me, I unwound the cloth from around my hand. Seeing the small pink scars that ran all along my knuckles, I sighed.

Standing next to me, Abel took my hand in his and gently manipulated it so that he could look at it better under the remaining rays of light. "It's not that bad. Give it time. You'll see that your scars will fade." He released my hand and walked over to a door a few feet away. "Jonah, you can go ahead and give the dustpan to me for now. I'll set it in my room and we'll return it later."

As I handed the dustpan over to him, he took it and began to open the door to his room. With the door opened, he vanished inside and for a moment, all that I could hear were the sounds of Abel muttering to himself and his rummaging around. It was obvious that he was searching for something. A couple of minutes had gone by and the rummaging had ceased. Seconds later Abel reappeared looking triumphant, and with a small black box held within his hands. As I looked over at the object that he now held onto, I asked. "Is that it?"

He gave it a light pat and said. "Indeed it is. Now let's go. To get the courtyard, just go through the door that you can see across the hall."

Going to the exact spot that Abel had pointed out, I found the door that would lead us into the courtyard, and I opened it without any hesitation. With the door opened wide, I was bathed in the last sliver of sunlight. Looking upon the beauty of the small garden for the second time in my life, I saw that it was absolutely the same as it had been the last time I had seen it. Just as breath taking as I remembered it being. As I ran over to the Chrysanthemums, I gently began to touch the flower's delicate white petals with the tip of my finger, Abel set about trying to get the radio to work.

It was several minutes before I heard the radio crackling within the silence of the evening as it approached. Then finally after adjusting the radio's dial a few times, music began to play. The sound echoing off of the stone walls that surrounded us. "There we go! So what do we do now?"

I went over and stood next to him, feeling my nerves already starting to get the better of me. "Well it helps if I know the song that's playing. And this song..." I nod my head in the direction of the radio. "I'm not familiar with it."

Seeing that he understood, he said. "So we'll wait then."

"Yeah...we wait." I watched as Abel sat down on the smooth stone bench and patting the empty spot that was beside him, he chuckled. With a light blush spreading across my nose, I sad down. Thankful for the darkening sky since it was able to conceal both my nerves and my blushing.

One by one, songs that I were unfamiliar with played on the radio, and I watched as Abel would occasionally tap his feet along with the rhythm of the beat. Then as one song ended and a new one began, I tilted my head just a fraction of an inch to the side, trying to hear the melody a bit better. Noticing my movements, Abel asked, his voice hopeful. "Do you know this one?" He listened to the music as an electric guitar began to be played. "It honestly doesn't sound like something that I could ever imagine you listening to."

I waited until I could hear the words, and with the lyrics coming back to me, I hummed along with the tune for a while. As time passed slowly, I transitioned to simply singing along underneath of my breath. Then when all that remained of the song were the final two lines, I extended my hand out in front of my body, as though I were offering it to someone. And making sure that my voice would be loud enough for Abel to hear, I began to sing. _"Perhaps you could be some company? On this road everending."_

While my words reverberated off of the walls and reached our ears, Abel simply smiled. As the song that I had sung with ended, an upbeat song began to play in its place on the radio. Then getting to his feet, he took hold of my hand before I could retract it back down to my side. He pulled me up and making sure that he had a firm but gentle grip on me, he slowly began to twirl me around.

I couldn't help but to giggle as I spun, and when I became aware as to what was happening again, Abel was holding my hand in his and he had his other at my waist. So following suit, I Placed my free hand on his shoulder. And looking up at his face which was now becoming illuminated in the growing light of the twin moons, I saw just how happy he looked.

So as the song continued to play, we continued to spin around one another and laugh. The sound of it all was filled with so much exuberance, and it made me feel sure that if a random passerby were to spot us, they might have mistaken both Abel and myself as being lovers.

Yet that didn't hinder us.

This was something that we both so desperately needed.

As the song's beat started to wind down, and feeling as though we knew the words well enough, Abel and I began to sing along together with the music. _"Just another LA Devotee!"_

When the song ended, and another song, one with a much slower pace, began. The look in Abel's eyes was one of remembrance. Then as we began to sway, never once moving our feet, Abel whispered. His voice close to my ears as he gently rest his cheek against the top of my head. "Lilith used to sing this to me when I was younger. It was one of the few things that would comfort me when I was upset." I heard him exhale slowly then he quietly whispered along with the song. _"I'm struggling to exist with you and without you."_

As I listened to Abel's voice, I began to feel my heart within my chest begin to pound and nuzzling into the soft fabric that covered his chest, I whispered loud enough for him to hear over the music. "Father Nightroad...?"

I felt the gentle rumble of his response vibrate against my forehead as I touched it to his chest. "Yes, Jonah?"

Smiling to myself, I answered. "Thank you for tonight, Father."

He chuckled softly before saying. "You're welcome. After all, every now and then we all need to take a moment to stop and experience a new beginning in life."


	13. Within Dreams

Chapter 13: Within Dreams

As the music coming from the radio continued to play gently in the background, mixing with the soft nighttime sounds, Father Nightroad and I remained in the confines of the courtyard for several more hours. Enjoying the other's companionship. Sitting on the stone bench beneath of the palm tree, we were able to find a never ending supply of topics that we could discuss. We even managed to think of a few activities that we could do with one another. So as I pointed up at the dark sky that was above us, my reborn eyes now much more adept to seeing within the darkness than they had once been, I traced out the shape of one of the many constellations with my finger, saying as I did so. "Father Nightroad, I've got a question."

His eyes followed after my finger as I played connect the dots with the stars. "What might that be, Jonah?"

Moving from one constellation to the next, I continued. "Well I'm curious. I know that I haven't always been a Methuselah. So why all of the sudden? Why now?" I could feel as Abel began looking at me.

For a moment, he just sat pensive and lost deep within his thoughts, then from the growing silence, I heard him speak. "The only thing that I can think of is that the Bacillus in your blood has been, up until recently, dormant." He began to use his own fingers to quickly point out the constellations that I had missed, he whispered. "But the instant that you died, they must have activated...trying to save their host, along with themselves in the process."

I nod my head as I watched his swift yet precise hand movements. "Is that something that happens a lot?"

Abel laughed quietly, the sound wholeheartedly capturing his full amusement that he had found in the question that I had asked. "No. Actually it isn't."

About to turn to look at him, I was forced to stop when I noticed that the world around us began to spin rapidly out of control. Eventually everything started to wash away from our surroundings. Nothing around us was clear enough to see and when the world finally stopped moving, I could instantly see that we were no longer sitting in the courtyard. It was still nighttime and we were still outside, but a few minute details had been changed in the most slight of ways. The stars up above us seemed to be brighter and the twin moons appeared to be closer. Looking around, I took a single step and heard the clack of a heel striking against a hard surface. Glancing down, I saw that I was no longer wearing the white shirt and long pajama pants. I now wore a light pink sleeveless dress that came down to just above my knees, the dress itself was made out of lace, the top layer of which had been decorated with intricate patterns sewn into the material. As I leaned forward, I saw that I was also now wearing a pair of Mary Jane's that matched the color of the dress, and lifting my foot up off the ground, I noticed that the shoes had a small heel that looked to be only an inch in height. On my legs I had on a pair of white stockings that rose up to my shins. Confused by what I was seeings, I slowly set my foot back down against the brick tile that I was standing on.

In my own thoughts, I reeled about trying to think of an explanation that would make the most sense to me. _"What is all of this?! Is this...is this the Orders doing?!"_ Casting around, I made an effort to look for Abel, who had disappeared from my side. When I finally found him, I felt all of my worry fall away as relief came flooding through my consciousness. He was standing off in the distance beneath the illumination cast by some string lights. From where I stood, I couldn't tell if he were troubled by what had just happened or not. I didn't know if he had even noticed it to begin with. But with my sights set on Father Nightroad, I began walking towards him. The sounds of my heels audible with every step that I took and when I was close enough for him to hear me, I whispered out his name. "Father Nightroad?"

At the mention of his name, he turned to gaze at me. He looked no different than he had before the scenery had been changed around us, but as his winter blue eyes laid upon my figure, the breath within my lungs got caught inside of my chest. Instead of his carefree smile and his eyes which were normally filled with jubilance, I was now greeted by a crooked little smile and his eyes now contained desire. When he spoke, his voice came out as a soft breath. "Jonah."

As he whispered my name, I could feel my face steadily growing hot. My heart racing. "Father Nightroad?"

He chuckled once, the sound was soft, but it wasn't the one that he usually had. Without another word, he started to approach me. His blue eyes looking at me and only me.

Frozen in place by the fear caused from my lack of understanding all that was going on, I simply stood still. Watching as Abel continuously drew himself closer to where I was.

When he was directly in front of me, he gently slid his right hand across the left side of my face. His thumb caressing my cheek. There was a look on his face that I had never seen before. "Jonah, there's been something that I've been meaning to tell you. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I'll be able to restrain myself from saying it for much longer than I already have." He slid his hand from my cheek to the back of my neck and bending down low, he began to speak. As his lips moved, I could feel them gently brushing against my ears. "You can't possibly deny the fact that from the moment that you and I met, there's been an incredibly strong connection between us."

I could feel my eyes growing wide as I realized just how close Abel had gotten to me. My legs became weak beneath my body as he continued to whisper his breathy words that were meant for only me to hear.

"Please don't be nervous, Jonah." I could feel his lips turn up and forming into a simple smile, then with a soft exhale, I felt as his warm breath gently tickled the flesh on my neck. "I, at least, hope that you've felt the same connection that I have. Because if you have, then tell me, has it been just as unbearable for you as it has been for me?" Keeping his hand on the back of my neck, he finally pulled away, but his face was still incredibly close to my own.

As I swallowed nervously, I felt my cheeks burn brighter than they ever had and the look in Abel's eyes let me know that he could see the blush spreading across my face. When I had found my voice, I stammered. "Fa-Father Nightroad? Wh-what are you doing?"

He smiled the very smile that I was so used to seeing. Then in a matter of fact tone of voice, almost as if his intentions were already so blatantly obvious, he answered me. "I'm merely telling you all of the things that I've been dying to say to you for months." Brushing away a strand of hair from the side of my face with his free hand, he ventured forward. "Now Jonah...has there ever been anything that you've wished that you could have said to me, but didn't?"

Slowly, I nod my head once. My one simple reaction caused me to beg for an answer within my thoughts. _"What am I doing? Why did I just nod my head when he asked me that? I've never had anything that I hadn't been able to say to Father Nightroad..."_ My eyes finally reduced back to their normal size and with a sigh, I asked myself just one more silent question. _"Have I?"_

Drawing himself just a small bit closer to me, I could feel the beat of my heart quicken. Yet Abel smiled and looking me in the eyes, he asked. His voice sounding hopeful. "And what might that have been? Hmm?"

I took a deep breath and without thinking about it too much, I began to speak aloud the words that had already began to fill my thoughts. "Father Nightroad, since I've met you...I feel as though I have found my true smile. I just feel so happy when I'm around you." My gaze softening, I tried to resist the urge to reach up and place my hand against his cheek. However, choosing to relent, I raised my arm up, trailing the tips of my fingers along the side of his face. At my touch, I could easily hear Abel sigh contently, and I could feel him begin to nestle his face closer into the palm of my hand. "Father, when I'm around you, my heart races uncontrollably fast at times...and I've never been able to fully understand why it happens...until now." Just as I mentioned it, my heart sped up.

Sensing it as it happened, using his free hand, Abel lightly rested it against the left side of my chest, feeling for the beating heart that resided within me. As he found it, he smiled and chuckled quietly. "And what is the conclusion that you've come to?"

With his hand on my chest, over top of my wildly thrumming heart, I attempted to look down. But sliding his hand up from my chest and along my neck, he stopped it just underneath of my chin, gently tilting my head back so that I'd be looking only at him. I took a deep breath and began to speak. "I want...I want to stay with you forever!" A fresh determination filled both my body and mind. "I don't care if I'm a Methuselah and that you're a Crusnik! Father Nightroad, I...I think that I've fallen in love with you." I could feel the blush returning to my face even through all of my joy.

He closed his eyes for a brief second, then as he gently tightened the grip of his right hand. As he continued to hold it against the back of my neck, he slowly brought his face closer to mine. Then opening his eyes again, he gave me a playful smile, whispering. "All you ever need to do is ask, and I promise that you shall receive..."

As his voice fell away and I watched as he moved himself closer, I shut my eyes. Trying to prepare myself for what was inevitably going to happen.

But the instant before his lips met mine, I heard the sound of someone knocking on a door. Throwing my eyes open, I bolted upright into a sitting position in my bed. From where I sat, I frantically glanced around my room. My eyes taking in the sights of all that was familiar to me. The mirror in the corner, which now stood busted and shattered, then shifting my gaze over, I looked towards the only window that was in my line of sight. Floor length blackout curtains had been hung up on the curtain rod and prevented the sunlight from entering into the room. Trying to calm my breathing, I looked down and saw that I was still wearing my white shirt, and yanking back the covers, found the long pajama pants. It took me a minute before I could fully convince myself that I was actually awake. So placing my hand, which was gently shaking, up to my forehead, I whispered as I fell back down onto my pillow. "It was just a dream."

As I took a deep breath, I heard the sound of knocking again. My heart skipping a beat when I heard Abel's voice coming from beyond the other side of the door. I quickly realized that he was standing out in the hall. "Jonah?"

Covering my mouth, I considered all of my options for what I could do. Gradually, I settled on what action it was that I should take and lowering my hand, I began to speak. My voice coming out as a tiny, restricted squeak. "Y-yes?" The moment that I had spoke, I knew that he hadn't been able to hear my debilitated words.

With a sigh, Abel quietly opened the door to my room and stuck his head through once the door had been opened far enough. When he saw me sitting on the bed, he smiled. "Good, you're awake. I wasn't sure if you had heard me or not." Opening the door the rest of the way, he stepped over the threshold and walked towards me, shutting the door behind him. The look in his eyes had gone back to normal, but when I didn't say anything, he asked. "Jonah? Are you okay? You look pale."

I quietly looked up at him as he stood next to the bed. My muscles visibly tensing up all through my body against my will. Without a word, I mentally tried to remind myself that what I was seeing now was real life. That I was no longer in the dream I'd been having.

Concerned, Abel knelt down on the floor. "You're not getting sick, are you?" Lifting his hand up, he gently placed it against my forehead, whispering to himself as he did so. "No...you don't feel feverish."

In my head, I chided myself. _"Say something to him! It was just a dream! That's all it was! Do not make him worry anymore, Jonah!"_ As Abel laid his hand back down, resting it on top of the bed, he sighed. Obviously feeling unsure of what he should do. And watching him as he began to get to his feet, I thrust my arm out, placing my hand on his. "Father, wait."

He stared at me, with a mixture of surprise and curiosity on his face. But after a minute had gone by, the surprise fell away and he smiled. "Don't worry, Jonah. I'm not going anywhere." Getting to his feet, he sat down next to me and asked, his voice acting as a remedy for my frazzled mind. "You look anxious. Would you care to talk about it?"

I dropped my gaze, but with a nod that was hardly noticeable, I whispered. "I had a dream, Father...it was so real." Taking in a deep breath, I released it slowly. "I've never had a dream like it before...ever."

Abel smiled, tilting his head so that he could see my face. "What was it about? Although, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it, then you don't have to if you don't wish to." He chuckled quietly as I sat thinking.

Considering my options, I decided what would be safe to reveal to Father Nightroad. "Well...I was outside, it was dark...the moons were so close and the stars were bright." I raised my view back up, looking Abel squarely in the eyes. "I was alone, and I was wearing a pink lace dress with matching pink shoes." As I shut my eyes, I took in another deep breath. In my mind I thought back to seeing Abel and the way that he had greeted me. The way that he'd said my name was still reverberating within my head. Resonating within me even though I was awake. Feeling my heart as it began to flutter, I shook my head. _"Maybe it's best if I don't tell him anymore..."_ Reopening my eyes, I whispered. "That's all that I remember." Looking at him, I saw that he was staring at me. His eyes opened wide. "Father Nightroad?"

Managing to gain back some of his composure, he smiled. "The thing about dreams, Jonah, is that that's all they really are. It was only a dream. No need to worry about it or try to think of any hidden meaning that it may have." He got to his feet and walked away. Keeping his back to me.

"I know, Father." Following his lead, I stood up and went to stand by Abel's side. "It just messed with me for a little while. That's all. So you were needing something?"

He glanced at me with a relieved smile. "Well if you'll think back to what I told you yesterday, you've got to go and have your measurements taken for your new uniform. It shouldn't take too long, but you will still need to go and clean yourself up just a little."

Nodding my head in understanding, I turned, making my way towards my closed bedroom door. As I took hold of the handle, I began to twist it open but before I could open it even a fraction of an inch, I felt a hand gently gripping onto my shoulder and pull me back, away from the door. Glancing back, I looked at Abel and asked. "Father?"

With an exasperated sigh, he whispered. "Jonah Turner, what do you think you're doing?"

Hesitant, I tried to think of what it was that I could have possibly done wrong. Finally I gave in and said. "I was just going to do as you'd asked me to do, and go on ahead to the women's washroom. Was there something that you'd told me that I may have missed?" As I asked my question, I watched Abel's face. Watching his emotions as they happened.

His hand never leaving my shoulder, he whispered. "Did I tell you something that you might have missed?" Letting out a long exhale, he shut his eyes. When he opened them again to look at me, they contained an immeasurable amount of sadness. "Jonah, need I remind you that you are a Methuselah? Why do you think we hung these curtains up?" He only moved his eyes to indicate to the blackout curtains. "The sun is out right now. Do you know what would happen to you if you were to allow the sun's light to touch your skin?"

I tried to speak, but I found that I couldn't.

Abel shook his head, his long silver-white hair swaying behind him as he moved. After a minute, he spoke again, his tone coming out a bit calmer than it had been before. "You need to exercise a little more caution. Here..." He removed his hand from my shoulder and grabbing hold of the left side of his overcoat, he started to shrug his way out of it. Once it was off, he held it out for me to take. "Wear this over top of your head. Make sure that you've got your arms covered up as well."

As I retrieved the overcoat from him, I did as I had been instructed. I draped it over my head and wrapped it around my arms. I turned to face Father Nightroad. Feeling slightly foolish because of how I looked, yet I was glad that he truly did care. "So. Am I ready to go now, Father?"

Giving me a quick glance over, he smiled when he felt satisfied by my appearance. "I believe that you are. Now I'll wait outside of the washroom for you to finish and..."

Hearing his words, I cut him off from speaking any further. "Wa-wait? You're going to wait for me? Why?" As I asked this, I felt my face growing warm beneath the shadow cast by the collar of Abel's overcoat, and I prayed that it shielded my face enough so that he wouldn't be able to see.

He blinked his winter blue eyes a few times, confused by my mild yet unwarranted outburst of emotions. "Um, yes? I'll need to escort you to where you'll be needed for your fitting. Jonah, are you okay with this?" He slowly started to reach a hand out towards me, worry buried deep within the recesses of his eyes.

Through my embarrassment, I resisted the urge to turn away from him. I had to remain strong. I had to not let that which hadn't even been real influence the way that I treated him. So peering out from under the article of clothing that Abel had given to me to borrow, I smiled brightly. "Of course I am, Father! I'm sorry if I'm acting a little weird today." With a giggle, I saw him begin to smile again.

"Don't worry about it." Taking a step forward, he placed his hand onto the handle and glancing down at me, he whispered. "That said, are you ready to go?"

I nod my head.

Grabbing onto the door knob, Abel rotated his wrist and pulled the door open. Crossing back over the threshold he walked out into the brightly lit hallway.

With my gaze down, I followed after him. Making sure to not allow the light to get into my now delicate eyes. And as I waited for Father Nightroad to join me and walk by my side, I said. "Last night was truly fun, Father. I honestly can't think of the last time I'd done anything like that." I sighed wistfully.

Next to me, Abel chuckled. "So, no boyfriend has ever danced with you like that, I take it?"

At first I had missed his words, but then as my eyes widened, I asked. "Boyfriend?!" Again I felt my face begin to radiate off immense levels of heat.

As I repeated the word, he quickly realized how what he had said must have sounded to me. And clearing his throat nervously, he hurried to say. "I-I meant before you joined the A.X." His voice trailed off and deciding to risk it, I peeked up at Abel's face from under my cover. All along the bridge of his nose, there was an unmistakable blush.

Smiling, I returned my gaze to where it had been originally. "I knew what you meant. I simply couldn't resist the urge to tease you a bit." I heard Abel sigh in relief. "But no. I've never had a boyfriend to go dancing with." The entrance into the washroom came into view and I readied myself to separate from Abel's side for the next few minutes, but before I made my temporary exit, I asked. "So what about you, Father? Do you normally dance with all of the girls within the A.X.?"

He gasped quietly. His words obviously becoming embarrassed, he whispered. "I would never dream of it, Jonah."

Closing my eyes, I stood outside of the closed washroom door, my hand on the handle. "So just me then?" As I said this, my face started to feel as though it had been set on fire. Then without looking at him, I twisted the door knob until it clicked open and standing in the doorway I said. "All right, Father. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready."

Out in the hallway, I heard Father Nightroad tell me. "I'll be waiting for you right here." I could hear a small smile through the sound of his voice.

Donning a smile all my own, I began to shut the door, saying the moment before it created a barrier between the two of us. "I know that you will." Locking the door, I turned around and gently pressed my back to the solid wood entry. Looking down, I took in the color of the white ceramic tiles that I now stood on. With a silent sigh, I slid Abel's overcoat back to the proper way that it should be worn, and spotting the slender coat rack that sat in the corner of the room, I decided to completely remove the coat from around my shoulders. Hanging it up on the coat rack, I walked over to one of the sinks and looked at the reflection that was cast back at me from within the mirror. It seemed to be keeping everything together a bit better than the last reflection of myself that I had seen. However, I was horrified to see that there were lightly colored pink blotches along the right side of my face. And I slowly realized that I was looking at the faded blood stains that had been left behind when I had covered my face while my hand had been bleeding. I quickly turned on the tap for the warm water and cupping my hands together, I let a pool form inside of my palms. As I took a deep breath, I bent forward and began to wash away the very last remnants of a painful past.

The water felt refreshing as it made contact with my skin. I thought about the idea of thoroughly dousing the water over myself for hours, but then I remembered that Abel was waiting for me outside in the hall. As I lowered my hands from my face and I looked back up into the mirror, as I watched as small beads of water dripped off of my skin. I thought back to my dream.

The very last thing that Abel had said to me before I had woken rose up to the surface of my mind. _"All you ever need to do is ask, and I promise that you shall receive..."_ As his words washed over me, fresh and new again, I smiled meekly.

As the droplets of water continued to fall from my face, I whispered. My voice low enough so that it was impossible to be overheard. "What is going on with me?" Reaching over, I grabbed a small hand towel and gently dabbed it against my skin. "What I told Father Nightroad...it can't possibly be true, could it?" Standing in place, with the towel pressed to my lips, I silently asked myself the question that I secretly feared. _"Am I in love with Father Nightroad?"_ Just thinking the thought caused my cheeks to flush brightly. Lowering the cloth from my face, I turned off the tap and walked away from the mirror without a parting glance at myself, and setting the damp towel into a hamper that was set between the sinks and the door, I looked over at the coat rack.

Abel's overcoat now seemed to call to me. Beckoning for me to take it back into my arms.

Walking over to it, I gently took the fabric in between my fingers, feeling the softness of it as I slowly ran the tips of my fingers along the hem. Then as I finally took the coat off of its rack, I brought the collar of the overcoat up to my nose, I began to sniff at the fabric.

Instantly I was taken back to the first night that I had met Abel, and as the subtle scent of his cologne made an everlasting impression within my memories, I remembered what he had said to me. _"Yes...well..."_ He had sounded embarrassed, but it was apparent to me, that even back then, he had truly cared about me.

As I put the overcoat back on, making sure that all of my exposed skin was well covered, I couldn't stop myself from allowing my smile to grow exponentially broader upon my lips.

When I was ready to go and rejoin Abel out in the hallway, I paused and took a moment to gain back my lost composure, and once I felt as though I were well covered physically along with well recovered mentally, I unlocked the washroom's door and began to open it.

Through the opening of the door, I saw Abel standing with his back leaned up against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway. And seeing the crack forming, he walked over closer, his tall frame shielding me further from the sun's harmful rays. He had a smile on his face and his winter blue eyes seemed to be shining. "So are we ready to go, Jonah?"

I nod my head, smiling. My ability to speak dissolving away at the sight of him.

He took a step away from the door, making room for me to stand by his side. "Well then. Let's go."


	14. The Invitation

Chapter 14: The Invitation

When Father Nightroad and I got to where it was that we needed to be, I found that we were standing outside of a closed double door made from cherry wood. Glass panes had been set in between wooden grilles that appeared to be made from the same wood as the door itself had been. Through the glass, I could tell that beyond the doors was a room that had no windows, which meant that it was safe enough for me to remove Abel's overcoat from over top of my head and upper body. I could also see a woman sitting at a small desk, a single spiral-bound notebook rested by her arm as she patiently flipped through the pages of the magazine that she held in her hands. Next to me, I heard Abel chuckle quietly. "Well, it appears as though we're late." Looking up at him, he was already smiling down at me. "Best to not keep her waiting for much longer. She has a ferocious temper if she feels as though her time's being wasted." Before I could say anything, he raised up a hand and gently rapped a knuckle against one of the glass panes.

Immediately the woman looked up from her magazine and smiled at us. Then without leaving her seat, she slowly motioned with her index finger for us to enter the room and join her.

At the sight of the invitation, Abel took hold of the door's handle and turned it, pushing one of the two doors open. Walking into the room, I couldn't remove the idea from my head that the woman, whoever she was, had a certain stunning beauty about her. She had long blondish-brown hair that formed into tight curls. Her skin was slightly tanned, and her lips had been painted a dark shade of red. She wore a pair of black horn rimmed glasses, along with a form fitting maroon turtleneck. As she stood up, I saw that she had on a pair of black, skinny dress pants and some maroon pumps. The closer that she got to me, the taller I could see that she was.

Standing less than a foot away, she looked at Abel. A coy smile falling upon her lips, and as she continued to look in Father Nightroad's direction, she began to speak. Her voice almost sounding like a sensual purr. "So we meet again, Abel? Although, I must admit..." She grazed her eyes up and down him, all the way from head to toe. "If you were to ask me, I'd say that it's still been far too long since I last saw you." As she finished speaking, she playfully bat her eyelashes at him.

Oblivious to her advances, Abel laughed quietly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's good to see you as well, Miss Brianna. But you know as well as I do that we don't sign on permanent A.X. agents that often. So Cardinal Sforza only calls you for your services when it's necessary. And well..." He glanced down at me, his winter blue eyes gleaming with joy. "Now is one of those times."

The woman, known as Brianna, crossed her arms in front of her chest and confidently she strut over to stand directly in front of me. Her brown eyes examining me with her harsh judgment. "So this is her?" Her gaze raked over my body as I stood still, I felt so out of place in my slightly bloodied white shirt and long pajama pants. Growing anxious, I gently began to rub my upper arm with my hand, hoping that the simple action would be enough to quell my mounting anxiety. But when I moved, Brianna scowled and said. "Stand still! I need to be able to see you so that I can successfully envision what it is that your uniform will look like." I froze like a statue and she began to smile a bit. Then circling around me, she asked. "Now tell me this, what is the code name that you were given?"

I was confused, yet I was too afraid to let my confusion actually reach the surface of my emotions. "My code name?"

She sighed, and obviously feeling annoyed she came to a standstill the moment she was in front of me again. "Yes. Your code name! I need it so that I can use it as an inspiration for your uniform. You should have been assigned one the day that you became an agent."

Looking down at my feet, I began to whisper. "I-I don't ha-"

But seeing me begin to struggle, Abel stepped in and came to my rescue. "She doesn't have one yet, Brianna. And I would appreciate it if you were a bit nicer to her." As he spoke, he didn't sound like his normal cheerful self. He sounded genuinely upset, as though he had been put-off by her entire attitude towards me.

I smiled at Abel, and when he looked over at me, I mouthed out two words that I needed him to know. "Thank you."

As he read my lips, he nod his head and mouthed back. "Don't mention it."

Having been scolded, Brianna exhaled slowly and looking at Abel, explained. "Well she's going to need a code name so that I'll know what exactly it is that I'm working with. So Abel, either you can give her one or I can."

Without hesitation, I looked up and blurted out. "No offense, but I'd really prefer it if Father Nightroad was the one to assign me my code name. He's...He's been the one by my side since the start of this journey. So I think that it's only fitting if he were the one to do it."

Flattered by my sincere words and my decision to choose him, he placed his hand to the left side of his chest and smiling, whispered. "It would truly be an honor, Jonah, if you were to allow me this." He closed his eyes, his smile still in place. "Besides, I've already got the perfect code name for you in my mind."

As she began to grow impatient, Brianna snapped. "Well then, enough with the pleasantries and small talk, just spit it out!"

With a gentle shake of his head, Abel looked at me. "Jonah, from here on out, you will be known as the Lunar Angel."

Once she had the information that she needed, Brianna walked away from us without another word. And going back over to her desk and notebook, she sat down and set to work.

Making my way over to stand by Abel's side, I whispered. "I don't think that she likes me very much."

He chuckled softly. "I wouldn't worry about her too much. Believe it or not, she's normally like this. So don't take it personally. She treats everyone-" Stopping himself in mid-sentence, he corrected the wording of what it was that he was about to say. "Well, she treats most people like this."

Slowly I nod my head, letting him know that I fully understood. But as I looked up at him, I asked. My heart fluttering gently. "So why Lunar Angel, Father Nightroad?"

Abel smiled broadly. "Well Lunar is there to show that you're a Methuselah, and Angel simply because...well...because you're an absolute angel."

Hearing him say this brought a blush back to my face, and feeling uncertain, I looked away briefly. "Father..." In my mind, I couldn't help but to feel amazed by some of the things that Abel could think of to say to me.

With a gentle nudge in my side, he continued. "No need to feel embarrassed. Every bit of your new code name describes you perfectly. Also, if you're going to argue and say that you aren't an angel, then I must tell you that I strongly disagree. Out of all the A.X. agents, you are by far, one of the most pure among us." He smiled and I could see that there was so much hope etched all across his face. "Well...you along with Sister Elma."

Recovering from my embarrassment, I nod my head in agreement. "Yeah. Elma's so pure and innocent. If you were to take just one glance at her, you could see all of the good that she has within her." I stood thinking for a moment, my eyes drifting over towards Brianna as she sat at her desk, carefully sketching away in her notebook. Her facial expression scrunched up in sheer concentration. Yet once i had all of my thoughts in order, I asked. "Father, yesterday neither Elma nor Terina mentioned what their code names were..." Glancing upwards, I continued, my focus purely on Abel. "Would it be okay if I asked you what they are?"

He made a quiet noise in his throat, almost as if he hadn't heard what I had said, but then looking directly ahead of where he stood, whispered. "You weren't too far off when you were describing Elma." Exhaling, he peered down at me out of the corner of his eye. "Her code name is simple and gets directly to the point."

I tried to think of what I had said that would have made the perfect alias for Elma.

But before I could come to a conclusion, I heard Abel voice. "It's Innocence."

I blinked my eyes a few times, then still feeling confused, asked. "Huh?"

Abel laughed. Then he began to explain again. "Elma's code name is Innocence. Her powers don't allow her to harm anyone since she can only use them to heal. So she truly is the most innocent one among us."

As his explanation sank in, I could easily understand why it had been decided that Elma would be known as Innocence, but I was still interested in knowing just one more thing. "And what about her sister? What is Terina's code name?"

Father Nighroad sighed. In the past it had been simple for me to pick up on the fact that he and Terina didn't always see eye to eye, but I knew that he still felt deeply for her. And that he sympathized with the sadness that she could be considered to be drowning in. "Jonah, do you remember what I told you out in the courtyard? You'll have to think back a ways since it was a conversation we had on the very first night that you actually spent within the Vatican."

Closing my eyes, I searched around for a while and eventually I delved down deep enough, going backwards in time. That night felt as if it had happened eons ago, but the memory was still crisp and pristine within my mind. "You told me that Terina was complicated. That she's physically strong, but emotionally she's faced up against demons." Reopening my eyes, I couldn't help but to feel sad. To me, Terina always seemed to act as though she never let anything bother her. As though she were truly invincible. But as I reflected upon Abel's words, I began to realize that her courage and infinite amount of strength was nothing more than a facade.

"Yes, but I also need for you to remember what it was that happened to the both of them that brought them here in the first place."

I could tell that Abel was testing my memories, since I still hadn't been able to recall much about what had happened between Noelle and myself just a few days prior to where we were now. But I decided to give it my best attempt and dove back into the sea of all that was. "Their parents had been murdered in their home, and that the Empress suggested that they be sent here."

Abel nod his head slowly. "That's correct. We don't really know much about the situation, but what we have been able to find out is this. When the attack occurred, Elma had only been twelve years old. She wasn't present at the time, and she never once saw the bodies of her deceased parents. Terina, on the other hand, was eighteen and had been appointed by the Empress to become a guard of sorts. And it was within the palace that she learned the skills that she now possesses today." He sighed once more and crossed his arms over top of his chest. "However, while she was on a trip to visit with her family, she unfortunately was the one to discover the corpses of her parents. They had been brutally murdered, and to this day, no one knows who was behind the killings."

Looking up towards Abel's face, I could see that his winter blue eyes were in the midst of a harsh blizzard.

Yet with a feeble smile that was made as an attempt to not make me worry, he whispered. "Terina blames herself for the entire incident. She feels that if she had gotten home just a bit sooner, that she might have been able to prevent it from ever happening." The now faded light within his eyes communicated a very similar sentiment.

Throwing caution to the winds, I ventured to ask. "Is that how you felt the other day?"

He took a deep breath into his lungs and held it there for a second. Then as I heard him releasing the breath, he responded. "It was, and it still is. When we met I made you a promise that I would protect you and that I'd be there to catch you if you were to ever fall." Shaking his head, he lost his weak smile. "I felt as though I had failed you, and I can never undo that. I will never be able to go back and fix that one mistake that almost cost me so much."

Unable to take anymore of his words, I placed my hand on his sleeve just above the elbow and I tried to console and heal Abel's fractured heart. "Father Nightroad, it's all okay. I'm still here. A bit different...but still here nonetheless. Please don't torture yourself with all of the 'what ifs' and 'could haves'. After all, I still stand by what I told you."

At my statement, he instantly became confused. "I don't understand, Jonah. What are you talking about?"

I flashed him my warmest smile and reminded him. "Father, I don't like seeing my friends in pain, nor do I enjoy knowing that they're sad."

He simply smiled at me. And I watched as the raging blizzard deep within his eyes died away, giving way for the dampened light to kindle and burn brightly once more. With a soft, content exhale, Abel gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close for a second.

Held in his warm embrace, I attempted to return our conversation back to its original topic. "Father Nightroad, you never told me what Terina's code name is."

I listened as he chuckled quietly. "It's Violet Shadow. I know that you've never really seen Terina's skills at work, but trust me when I say that you never see one of her attacks coming. Since she primarily deals with dark energy, it's nearly impossible to keep track of her once she gets started."

As he explained all of this new information to me, I couldn't help but to smile. My body and mind filled to the brim with peaceful emotions. But those feelings of happiness were short lived when I saw that Brianna was making her way towards us. The closer she got, the more strict she seemed to become. "Well I've done the very best that I could and I somehow managed to come up with a basic design to use for your uniform." She came to a halt when she was a foot away from where Abel and I were, and with a single sheet of paper clutched in her hand, she said. "It'll be far from conventional, but considering what you are, I think that it should be work out just fine in the end." When she was finished speaking, she turned away and almost as if it were merely an after thought, she curtly said just one more thing. "Give me ten to fifteen minutes and we'll be ready for you to try the uniform on."

Letting out a nervous sigh as I watched Brianna leave, I whispered. "I **really** don't think that she likes me."

Abel gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and with a comforting tone he said. "I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much, Jonah. And truth be told, after today, I doubt that you'll ever have to meet her again."

With the words that he had said and the fact that Father Nightroad was acting as a kind of protective barrier, between the seamstress and myself, calmed my heart. So nodding my head, I whispered. "Thank you, Father."

The remaining time that Brianna needed to become completely finished with the final product, that would be my new uniform, went by fairly quickly. So as Abel and I continued to chat idly, I barely noticed it when Brianna had come back over and rejoined our small group. Her arms crossed and she began to tap her foot impatiently. At the unexpected noise, I looked over and finally became aware of her presence. "If you two are done gossiping, Ive got your uniform completed." Once again, she turned away on a heel and giving a swift motion for me to follow after her, began to walk away towards the back of the room.

I felt Abel withdraw his arm from around me, and looking up towards his face, I saw that he was giving me a look of reassurance. Smiling, I returned my focus to what was ahead of me, I followed after Brianna. Whom I found waiting next to a basic wooden room divider.

The moment that I was within earshot, she ordered. "Get undressed."

Stepping behind the partition, I proceeded to quietly remove my clothes from my body. And with each article of clothing that I shed, I steadily became more self conscious about my appearance.

When I was standing in nothing but my undergarments, Brianna pointed up at something that I hadn't noticed until that very second. While I peered up to take a closer look, she told me. "It should fit you perfectly. It's also been made from a material that will help to block out the sun's UV rays. Which means that as long as you cover up your face, it'll be safe enough for you to go outside during the day for brief periods of time."

Reaching out, I took the freshly minted uniform into my hands. It looked exactly the same as my previous dress had. Only instead of being primarily white with blue accents, it was now mainly black with icy blue accents. The differences between my original and new uniforms were so striking, yet I couldn't help but to feel impressed. And as I began to slip into the dress, I whispered to Brianna, who now stood with her back to me. "Thank you."

Again, she didn't say anything in response, but I watched as she bobbed her head once to acknowledge that she had heard me.

As I put the dress on, I could tell that the material was a bit thicker than the normal, but it didn't bother me. It simply felt nice to be back inside a uniform that was familiar to me, and that was all that I cared about. Once the dress was on, and all that remained was for the buttons along the back to be fastened up, I turned to Brianna. "Could you please button up the back for me?"

Turning away, I felt a gentle pressure moving up my back as Brianna secured the buttons, and when she was done, she whispered. "That should do. Now go and see what he thinks." As she spoke, I noticed that her tone was a bit kinder than it had been before.

Yet there was no need for me to have for any clarification as to whom she had been referring to, since I already knew that she meant Father Nightroad. With a smile lighting up my face, I put on the habit that matched the color scheme of the dress, and turning around, I prepared myself to go and show Abel my new uniform. But the moment I made an attempt to walk away from behind the wooden room divider, a gentle hand grasped at my shoulder.

Brianna's voice greeted my ears before I could even so much as look in her direction. "Here...I almost forgot something." Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that she was holding onto the black boots that Abel had given to me the day that we had met.

My heart fluttered at the sight of the boots, and reaching out, I slid the tip of my finger along the toe of the right shoe. "Where did you find these?"

She smiled. "Abel brought them in just before he left to retrieve you." Holding them out, she whispered. "Take them. They're yours."

Taking the books back, I quietly put them on one at a time. My being feeling complete once again, I looked at Brianna and happily whispered. "Thank you." When my words of gratitude had been said, I hurried out from behind the room divider and I quickly sprinted towards Abel.

Witnessing me emerge, his eyes appeared to be wide behind his round glasses. His mouth hung open slightly and then he smiled. "My goodness! Jonah, you look amazing!"

I giggled as I twirled a few times, watching as the black and icy blue materials splayed out around me as I spun in small circles. "Father Nightroad, I absolutely love it!"

Abel chuckled. "Did you remember to thank Miss Brianna?"

From behind me, I heard her respond. "Don't worry, Abel. She's a good girl." As she said this, she turned to face me. "I apologize for being rude to you earlier." Brianna smiled for a brief second, but as soon as I saw it, it deteriorated away and switched back over to her previously worn neutral expression.

As I began to open my mouth to say something to her, I stopped as I noticed Abel lifting his left hand up to the communicator cuff that was attached to his left ear. "This is Nightroad, awaiting further instructions." He looked over at me and smiled, then after a moment he said. "Sure. That will be no problem at all, Kate. We're actually just now finishing up with things here, so we'll head there straight away." He nod his head a few times, and then before the conversation ended, he said. "Thank you so much."

With my full attention on Abel, I asked. "Do you have a mission that you need to leave for?"

He shook his head, and addressed Brianna. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I am afraid that both Jonah and myself, are officially needed elsewhere right now. Just know that you did a spectacular job."

Waving her hand in front of her face, almost as if Abel's compliment had hardly meant anything to her, she said. "Don't mention it. I'm sure that we'll meet again when the next agent rolls around."

Abel laughed. "I'm sure that we will." He returned his focus solely onto me. "We've been instructed to go and meet with Cardinal Caterina immediately. I'm not sure what it's about exactly, but I'm sure that it's big." He walked over to the door that we had come in through, and holding it open for me, he continued to speak. "This will be your first real mission as an A.X. agent. How are you feeling?"

As I tried to keep the sun's light out of my face, I swallowed nervously. "I'm not sure. Over the last few months I've gone on a couple of small missions with you...but I know that now it's going to be an actual test instead of just another practice run."

Walking next to me, he nod his head a few times. "Yes, well. At the very least, I'll still be right there beside you, guiding you as best as I can, just like I promised I would."

Smiling, I whispered, my voice just loud enough for him to hear my honest feelings. "Father Nightroad, you have no idea how much I appreciate that."

For the remaining portion of our short journey to get to Cardinal Caterina's office, we walked in silence, but every so often I caught brief glimpses of Abel peering down at me out of the corner of his eye. I could sense that he was feeling anxious for me since this was going to be my first real mission, but I knew that I would be able to complete it with ease. So long as he were by my side. Once we found ourselves standing outside of the familiar mahogany door that would lead into the Cardinal's office, Abel looked at me and made a simple suggestion. "Perhaps you should stand behind me? That way the sun won't be able to reach you."

Nodding my head, I moved slightly so that I was standing behind him, and watching as he opened the door, I began to walk when he did.

Inside of the room, I heard Caterina's voice before I actually saw her, since Abel's tall body shielded all that was before us from my view. "I'm glad that you were able to get here so soon at such a short notice. But I have truly great news, Father Nightroad. Astounding news." She had an enormous amount of enthusiasm in her voice, and as I dared to peek out from behind Abel, she turned her attention to me and smiled. "I see that Ms. Trentino had enough time to finish your new uniform. Excellent. However, Sister Jonah, I have one more thing that I need to be sure to give you before the two of you leave." Caterina carefully opened a drawer in her desk and after retrieving an item that I couldn't see, I watched as she gently set a small glass bottle on the desk's smooth surface.

Looking at the bottle, Abel asked. "Miss Caterina, is that what I think it is?"

The Cardinal laughed elegantly. "It is." She turned her attention to me once more and began to explain what it was that I was looking at. "Jonah, this is anti-UV gel. Here at the Vatican, we've got as much of a supply of it as we could find stored away. You see, we can't allow any unruly Methuselah to get their hands on it, since it would permit them to walk around freely beneath the light of the sun without fear of any repercussions. If that were ever a thing to occur, some of those Methuselah would unfortunately reap the opportunity and they would feed upon the Terran populace."

I stood where I was, my mouth slightly agape in shock of what I had heard. "That's horrible! But I suppose that it's a good thing that you've decided to withhold such a substance that would grant those who would opt to abuse its power for their own selfish purposes."

"Precisely. But considering that you are one of my operatives, I can't bear for you to suffer the same fate as those other Methuselah. Hence the reason that I'm giving this anti-UV gel to you now." She smiled and gently pushed the glass bottle forward a few inches in Abel's and my direction.

Reaching for the bottle, Abel took it in his hand and holding it back out for me to take, he instructed. "Go ahead and put a small amount on your face and neck."

I nod my head and with the bottle in the palm of my hands, I unscrewed the aluminum cap that sealed the gel inside of the glass bottle, and passing the cap to Abel, I slowly poured some of the thick liquid into my hand. It was cold, yet at the same time, it felt as though it had a tingly warmth to it. When I had a quarter size amount of the gel in my palm, Father Nightroad took the bottle from me and I began to spread the thick goo evenly over my face and neck. The instant that it came into contact with my flesh, it started to create a slippery protective barrier. And when I felt as if I had covered all that I could, I looked up at Abel, asking. "Am I good to go?"

As he screwed the cap back onto the bottle, he placed it into one of his pockets, and glancing at me, he smiled. "Almost." Gently touching the tip of a finger to my cheek, he made small circular motions. "There, that's better." Directing his gaze back to the Cardinal, he addressed her, his tone becoming serious. "Sister Kate informed me that we've received a formal invitation. Is this true, your Eminence?"

With a gentle smile, Caterina nod her head in confirmation. "It is, Abel." She set on the desk a sheet of beige colored stationery paper, and from where I stood, I could see that the sigil of an unknown crest had been stamped onto the top of the page.

My curiosity getting the best of me, I pointed an index finger at the symbol and asked. "What is that?"

Beside me, Abel smiled and with his eyes on me, he quietly said. "That, Jonah, is the crest of the New Human Empire."

I walked forward a few steps and inspected the sigil closer. "The Empire?" The crest was simple, yet it was incredibly beautiful to look at. It consisted of an upside down crescent moon and what looked like the sun being born from the crescent. Small dagger-like arrows pointed towards the four cardinal directions, and positioned in between each of the daggers, there were shapes that resembled backward commas. "Father Nightroad...are we going to the Empire?"

With a quiet chuckle, he said. "So I've been told. Now let's see..." He reached out and took the paper from the Cardinal's desk, and looking down through the lens' of his glasses, he began to read the words out loud for everyone in the room to hear. _"Dear Cardinal Sforza:_

 _I have been instructed by her Majesty, Augusta Vradica, to make a formal request that you choose two Terran that you feel would make worthy diplomatic envoy. Those of whom you choose, will be sent here to the Empire so that they might have an audience with her Majesty._

 _Though there is no set deadline for the arrival of your envoy, I do beseech that you make haste and choose to not tarry away any precious time._

 _May you have safe travels._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Astharoshe Asran_  
 _Duchess of Kiev"_

As Abel finished reading from the sheet of paper, I looked at the Cardinal and asked. "Is this why you called us here? Are we the two that you've chosen to be the envoy?"

Cardinal Sforza smiled and said. "Indeed. I'm sending both you and Father Nightroad, since I believe that the two of you are by far my most personable agents. I also feel as though it would offer you an excellent opportunity to gain some valuable experience out in the field as both a diplomat and as an A.X. agent."

Hearing her reasoning, I began to bow my head in excitement. "I understand. Thank you so much, your Eminence."

"There is one more thing, Sister Jonah. Yesterday, you expressed to me the desire to find out the truth about yourself. And I believe that you might find the answers that you're looking for, which concern the topics of who you are and your lineage, within the Empire." She shut her grey eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them back up, she looked at me with hope. "Please feel free to take some time while you're abroad during this assignment to seek out that which you long to know about."

As I stood looking at the Cardinal, I felt myself growing dewy eyed, and unable to find my words, I nod my head a few times. The movements that I made becoming slow and deliberate. My heart swelling up in pure admiration from the kindness of my superior.

Abel gently placed a hand on my shoulder, and speaking while I couldn't, he asked. "When do we leave, your Eminence?"

She smiled and answered Father Nightroad's question in just three words. "You leave immediately."


	15. Hope for Tomorrow

Chapter 15: Hope for Tomorrow

As I stood waiting for Father Nightroad on board of the battle airship, Iron Maiden, I gently trailed my finger along the sleek metal that was now attached to my left ear. Before leaving her office, Cardinal Caterina had made the suggestion that I should be outfitted with a communicator cuff while visiting within the Empire. She had said that in the off chance that Abel and myself should become separated, we would need to have a way to get in touch with each other. The ear cuff itself was very simply designed, it was bronze in color was nearly an exact replica of the one that Abel wore, the only difference was that mine was slightly smaller in size. While I continued to absentmindedly touch its smooth surface, I heard a gentle buzz, which was made up entirely of white noise, fill my left ear. Seconds later, I heard a kind voice begin to speak. "Hello? Jonah, can you hear me?"

Startled by the unexpected voice, I jumped, but as I began to regain my calm, I slowly realized that I knew the person speaking. "Elma?"

She laughed, and it sounded just like the most delicate ringing of the purest of bells. "Who else would it be?" On the other end, Elma fell silent for a few seconds and when she began to speak again, I could tell that she was feeling something that wasn't her usually cheerful and happy sentiments. "Jonah, listen...I just heard the news that you're heading to the Empire." She sighed, then as she whispered, I recognized that what she was feeling was a deep desire to go back to her homeland. "I wish that it were me right now preparing to leave...but if I were to say that, it would be to question her Eminence's judgment. I trust that Cardinal Sforza's made the proper decision in choosing you and Father Abel as the Vatican's envoy, but...Jonah I need to ask that you do something for me while you're abroad."

I smiled, even though I knew that she wouldn't be able to see my actions. "Sure, I'll give it my very best effort. What is it that you need for me to do, Elma?"

Wasting no time, she immediately began to explain to me the details of my side mission. "I need for you to find my best friend. I need for you to find him and relay to him a message. Please let him know that Terina and I are fine. That I...that I miss him and that I wish I could come home..." I heard the quiet sound of her sniffle a couple of times, but I didn't want to say anything about it. Fearing that I would embarrass her. So as Elma collected herself, I silently waited on my end of the conversation. Then when she was ready, she resumed speaking once more. "His name is Ion Fortuna, and he goes by his title as the Earl of Memphis. Just like you, he's a Methuselah. Which means that the two of you already have something very important in common. Jonah, I can only hope and pray that you understand how much this means to me."

Not wishing to break the young girl's fragile heart, I gave her my word. "You can count on me! I will find him for you, Elma. I'll find and let him know everything that you've just said to me."

Through the white noise, I heard only six more tidings before the conversation came to an end. "Thank you. Sister Elma, signing off."

The instant that Elma's voice faded from within my ear, I sighed. My mind rapidly becoming riddled with a fearful anxiety and I worried about how well I would perform once I was out in the field. Acting as an envoy, sent to represent the leading power of the Terran world.

The Vatican.

Trying to suppress these thoughts of self-distrust, I told myself. My words coming out as nothing more than hushed whispers. "Don't do this to yourself. You need to remember that as long as Father Nightroad's by your side...you'll do just fine. Relax." Slowly inhaling a deep breath into my lungs, I closed my eyes, and as I liberated the breath back into the world, I reopened them. Looking around, desperately trying to find something within my surroundings that would offer me some peace of mind, and glancing over my shoulder. I found the serenity that I needed.

Abel stood behind me, his silver-white bangs gently brushing against the sides of his face as he tilted his head. A wide grin was visible as he spoke. "Starting to feel nervous?" As his winter blue eyes gazed upon me, they seemed to shimmer beneath the illumination cast by the fluorescent lighting within the small room.

Bobbing my head down once, I asked. "Does the nervousness ever go away, Father?" As I spoke, my voice sounded restricted in my own ears.

He looked mildly surprised, but when a second had gone by, he smiled and approached me. "I take it that you're wanting an honest answer to that question?" Setting a kind hand on my shoulder, he continued. "No. It never goes away fully. Truth be told, I was one of the very first to join forces with the A.X. and that was well over ten years ago."

Craning my neck back slightly, I looked up at Abel. "You've been an agent for that long?" Deep inside my brain, I silently hoped that by asking this single question, I might be offered some new information about the kind priest standing next to me.

With a subdued chuckle, he smiled. "Oh, yes." As he began to guide me over towards a couple of plush chairs, which had been placed up against one of the walls in the room, I sat down in one while Father Nightroad sat in the other. Then looking over, I watched as Abel stuck his hand into his pocket and started to dig around. A second passed and he withdrew his clenched hand, and opening it back up I saw that there were a few small pieces of hard candy resting in his palm. Extending his hand out to me, he said. "Ladies first."

As I glanced at the candies and their brightly colored wrappers, I indecisively hovered my hand between two of them. Finally making a choice, I pinched the end of a candy that had the image of an apple printed onto the wrapper, and held onto it using my thumb and forefinger. Before I pulled my hand away from Abel's, I smiled and exclaimed. "Thank you, Father!"

Using his free hand, he chose from the candy that remained and plucking one that displayed an orange, he closed his eyes, Carefully, he replaced the rest of the candy back into his pocket. "Please don't mention it, Sister." He proceeded to twirl one end of the candy's packaging in a counterclockwise motion, undoing the seal and when the sugary treat was exposed, he picked it up and gently placed it into his mouth. Broadly smiling as he did so.

Immediately, I began to imitate his actions. And when I could see the light green candy, I took it from the wrappings and plopped it onto my tongue. The slightly sour taste of an apple filled my mouth. "It's really good."

Abel beamed at me. "I'm glad that you think so." He stared at the now empty plastic that laid crumpled up in his palm, slowly nudging it around in small circles with his fingertip. "I always try to make a conscious effort to keep them on me at all times." With a quiet laugh, he closed his hand, gently pressing his fingers against his palm. "A few of the other A.X. operatives give me some trouble because of it, but I simply can't help myself. I truly have a natural affinity for sweet things."

When he said this, I thought back to a time where Abel and myself had drank tea with one another. "So when you and I went to the cafe..."

I saw as he nod his head. "That's right. And it's not that I can really do anything about it, since what I told you is the truth. Because of the Crusnik, I honestly do experience low blood sugar at times." He switched his gaze from his closed hand over to my face. I sat in my chair, patiently waiting to hear Abel talk about his past. After a few long seconds, my patience was rewarded. "It was ten years ago, yet it had already been quite some time since I had come to Earth with Lilith's remains. Despite the fact that I was filled with so much anger and grief, I knew that I must have a purpose...there had to be something left that I could still fight for and defend." Shutting his eyes, he cracked a wary smile, exhaling quietly as he looked back at me once more. "The humans. So after I had spent what felt like several centuries feeling sorry for myself inside of the catacombs deep beneath the Vatican, I finally found the willpower to do what I knew I had to. Lilith would never have wanted for me to waste away my life mourning her death. The moment that I realized this, I said my final goodbye to her and set off to carry out the promise that I had made."

With every word that Abel said, I became more enthralled, and I could feel my attentiveness increasing. My want to glean as much information about him steadily growing with the passing of time.

Witnessing the captivated expression that I wore, he chuckled quietly. "I understand that I've already told you about my promise to her, but that was nearly half a year ago. And I don't expect for you to remember any of the small details that concern my life from before we met-"

I rapidly shook my head and recounted the words that he had said to me. "No matter what the situation might be, you won't kill. You don't wish to be the cause of any unnecessary deaths."

He stared at me, his mouth hanging open wide. Then quietly he whispered, his voice filled with wonder. "Jonah, you...you actually remembered that?"

Looking away from him, I glanced over in his direction out of the corner of my eye. "Of course I did, Father." I returned my full gaze back towards him and attempted to give him my most comforting smile. "I remember much more about our conversations than you probably think I do. Besides, all throughout this entire journey you've been my best friend."

Solemnly, Abel bowed his head. "It fills my heart with so much joy knowing that you've saved some room within your memories just for me." As he resumed his previous posture, he continued to speak. "But yes. That was the promise that I made to Lilith. Although, it is sometimes impossible for me to hold up my end of the oath. I still try my best to maintain and keep it within check." Taking a deep breath, he whispered, his voice remaining low. "Just know that I will only resort to killing if I cannot find any other alternative..."

"Like what happened with the Methuselah that you protected me from? Andros Nakomi was his name I believe..." I shuddered as I thought back to the chilling moment that I had met the crazed Methuselah. My body recoiling away from thin air as I remembered the way that he had grabbed onto me on the roof of my old home.

For a while, he sat silent then keeping his tone as low as he could, he said. "Yes. That was the first time that you'd seen the Crusnik and..." Falling silent once more, he looked around the room, his eyes eventually settling on my face. "That was the first and only time that you've seen the Crusnik, hasn't it?"

Cautiously, I nod my head once.

As I soundlessly sat in my seat, I watched as a great amount of sadness came flooding into Abel's eyes. "Do you...do you fear the Crusnik now that you know you're a Methuselah, just like Mr. Nakomi?" His gaze dropped and he looked down at his knees. "If I remember correctly, you stayed behind, even though I had asked you to head for safety, and you watched as I ended his life..."

His words shocked me, and I had to fight against the tears that threatened to fall down upon my cheeks. "Father Nightroad, I...I don't...I could never..." Resisting the urge to reach out and take his hand into my own, I resided to simply balling my hands up into loosely held fists. "Father, I know that you would never hurt me."

Filled with an undeserved sorrow, he nod his head. The winter blue eyes behind the round glasses reminded me of the broken man I had seen sitting next to me on the night that fate had allowed us to meet. "Thank you for having so much faith in me, Jonah."

Shaking my head, I smiled fondly at the priest. "Don't be silly. You have never given me any reason not to have faith in you. I would easily trust you with my very life."

Abel cracked a small smile. "Did you know that the Methuselah have a term that they use to describe that very thing?"

My own smile faltered for a second. "What thing, Father?"

He finally looked back up at me, and whispered. "A being that they would trust with their life. They call that person a tovarish."

I pondered the term in my head for a moment, then quietly, I repeated it out loud. Slowly letting the foreign word roll off of my tongue. "Tovarish."

As I considered the meaning of the phrase, Abel quietly watched me. His smile coming back to life.

With the word still in my mind, I asked the only other thing that I could think of. "Father Nightroad, does that..." I looked away for the smallest number of seconds, then turning my gaze directly towards his eyes, said. "Does that make you my tovarish?"

My inquiry didn't seem to surprise him, and he looked as though it could have been something he might have been anticipating for me to ask of him. "That's not a thing that I can answer for you, Jonah. Most Methuselah treat the term with an overwhelming amount of reverence. Since it has, in a way, become a kind of tradition within their culture. If you personally feel as though it is right for you to call me your tovarish, then I will humbly accept your request. But at the same time, if you wish to hold off, and wait to see if you can find a much better candidate, then that is also your prerogative."

Sighing, I began to smile. "Where else would I find a better candidate than the man who is sitting right beside me at this very moment?"

As he smiled, small crinkles appeared in the skin around his eyes, and embarrassed, he gently rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Then if that's how you truly feel, just know that it is an honor." For a while, Abel sat. His eyes peeking over at me every so often, but it was a few minutes before he said anything else. "Really though, thank you. It's a comfort to know that you still don't fear the Crusnik that's inside me, and that you trust me enough to make me your tovarish. I'm not sure what I have done in this life to deserve such kindness, but I will gladly take what I can get."

Incapable of believing what Abel was saying, I shook my head. Dismissing his concept of thinking entirely. "Father...don't say such things about yourself! In my eyes, you are the kindest person that I've ever had the joy of meeting. Please remember that in the future, okay?"

All that he did was grin and quietly whispered out. "I'll try to keep that in mind, Jonah."

Relieved, I stretched in my chair. Extending both of my arms out on either side of me. "Good. So how long exactly should it take for us to reach the Empire?"

From a small envelope, Abel pulled out a folded sheet of paper. On which I could see a few lines of his untidy script written down, and consulting his notes, he told me. "Well if everything goes according to plan, we should arrive sometime tomorrow. Possibly in the early hours of the morning." Reading further down the paper, he continued. "Since it was this Miss Asta who was in charge of initially making contact with us, I'm fairly certain that it will be her that we'll need to seek out and locate." He placed the sheet back into its envelope, and sighing, he began to explain. "Finding Asta, I feel, will undoubtedly be the hardest aspect of this mission. But after we complete that, we should finally be able to make a request to have an audience with the Empress."

"But Father Nightroad, what if we can't find her? What will happen then?"

He shook his head from side to side, holding up one of his hand. Indicating that I should stop. "Don't worry. You just leave all of that to me."

I let out a small exhale and looked down at the floor of the Iron Maiden. The fatigue caused by all of the events that had happened since I had reawakened in the morgue, was ultimately beginning to take its toll of me. As I opened my mouth and yawned, Abel looked over at me, his expression one of perplexity. When I had finished yawning, I laughed timorously. "I guess that all of the excitement from yesterday and today has finally caught up with me. Not to mention everything that's still going to be transpiring in the upcoming days."

Showing that he understood what I was feeling, Abel inclined his head a bit. Then as he gestured with a hand, he whispered. "Jonah, if you need to , feel free to go and rest up. I'm fairly certain that nothing of great importance or interest will happen while you're away." With his words, he closed his eyes and grinned from ear to ear.

As I got to my feet, I turned to gaze towards him. "Father, what about you? If I go to sleep now, you'll be left all by yourself."

"Oh, you worry too much." I watched as he opened his eyes back up, the wintry blueness of them instantly easing my mind. "This will not be the first time that I'll be left on my own. Please, go and rest. Then when you wake up, you can come and we can talk some more. If that's something that you're interested in, of course."

Lacking all hesitation, I smiled and said. "I look forward to it, Father Nightroad." With a gentle wave of my hand, I turned away and began to head down the hallway that would lead me to my temporary sleeping quarters. The room itself wasn't that far from where I had been conversing with Abel, but by the time that I gripped the handle with my fingers, I felt as if I had ran ten kilometers all at once. But shaking my head as vigorously as I could, I tried to rid myself of the exorbitant exhaustion as I entered into the room.

It was indistinguishable from the first room that had been designated as mine to stay in during my voyage on board the Iron Maiden. However, as I consciously chose to ignore everything that wasn't the twin sized bed, I trudged over and laying down, nearly collapsed onto the mattress. In my head, I thought. _"Now what's going on with me?"_ With a sigh signifying my surrender, I closed my eyes and muttered. "I'm sure that it's nothing..." My voice drifted off as I instantly fell asleep.

At first my sleep was peaceful. There were no dreams. Just blissful rest.

Then at the drop of a hat, everything around me changed. A blinding white light lit up all that surrouned me and holding my hand up in front of my face, I shielded my eyes from the sudden brightness. Purely on instinct, I cast several quick glances around me. Within the exposure of the light, I could see that I was standing in a room, the walls of which had been assembled from smooth stone. Tall pillars were interspersed all throughout the large space. Cautiously, I peered down at the ground beneath my feet and saw that I was standing on a floor made entirely out of differently colored stones.

Even from all that I could discern, I still wasn't able to understand where I was. So as I took a deep breath, in the hope that it would be enough to calm me, I quietly whispered to myself. "There's no way that this is real...I've got to be dreaming again. I just have to be." I moved my right foot forward and I began to walk farther into the room. Working my way closer to the bright light. The sound of my footsteps echoed loudly within the large space as the soles of my boots hit the stone floor. With every step I took, nothing that was around me seemed to change. But then after what must have been minutes of me walking nonstop, I finally noticed something new.

Just a few yards ahead of where I stood, I heard what sounded like someone sobbing.

There was something hidden in the sound of the person's sorrow that was familiar to me, yet at the same time, it was completely unalike anything I had ever encountered before. I had never heard another person utter such guttural and horrific sounds before in my life. So bearing extreme caution in my mind, I continued to move towards the source of the noise.

My movements were slow, and just as I passed by one of the stone pillars that stretched all the way from floor to ceiling, I saw it. A small spacecraft, which was slightly bigger than the size of a person, was perfectly positioned between a pair of the pillars. A ray of what looked like moonlight, beamed down over top of it, showcasing that the craft's vertical hatch door was opened up wide. Next to the docked aircraft, I could see the figure of someone kneeling down on the ground, their forehead pressed against the vessel's metal siding. Every so often, their shoulders would tremble and I hear the sound of muffled words as they were being spoken.

Unable to understand what was being said, I slowly began to take tiny steps, drawing myself closer to both the person and the craft. As I approached, I was capable of catching a few of the words that were said. "No...no...how could he do this to us?" There was more sobbing, and when I felt as though I was a safe enough distance away from what I was witnessing, I stopped. The distraught person began speaking aloud once again. "I'm so sorry...so sorry...I will never do anything to disappoint you again...I swear it!" I leaned in a bit, and picked up on the fact that the voice I was hearing was clearly male. The man looked up, and I gazed at the long silver-white hair that fell freely down his back. As I moved my sight along the man's young face, I saw that there were tears streaming from his winter blue eyes. As I watched the tears fall upon his pale cheeks, I realized something that made my heart skip several long beats. And when he spoke again, my suspicions were confirmed. "Lilith...I will do whatever I can to make it up to you...I want to fix everything that has happened between us...so I will protect the humans..."

I was looking at Abel. However it wasn't the Abel that I personally knew, but rather it was a version of him that I had never had the opportunity of meeting. From the way he was positioned beside the craft, I could tell that the clothes he were wearing were nearly identical to the A.X. uniform he wore now. Yet instead of being black and grey in color, they were white and blue.

As I steadily watched the past playing out like a film before me, a soft shuffling caught my attention. Glancing out of the corner of the eye, I noticed a blurred shadow moving quickly from one pillar to the next. After I took notice of the first shadow, I saw yet another. However this one was on the opposite side of the room, but it was behaving in the exact same manner than the first had.

Gradually, five figures crept their way out into the open, working to fall into formation and stood surrounding Abel and the spacecraft, which I now knew contained Lilith's remains. Once Abel saw the newcomers, he jumped to his feet, scowling at each of them in turn. When he spoke, his voice was very reminiscent of what I had heard the night that we had met. Only now it was far more distorted than it had been on that evening. "You will not touch her!" As the words left his mouth, his eyes had already started to glow a haunting shade of red. His long hair flew up and formed a writhing, unruly crown above his head. Razor sharp fangs extended down past his upper lip, which had changed in color and turned a deep bluish-purple. Black lacquered wings sprouted out of his back and watching as the scythe, which I had only seen once before, appear out of thin air within his hands, he took flight. Painfully bright electric currents switched back and forth between his wings. Pointing one of the scythe's blades at one of the five figures, Abel cried out. His voice void of any and all empathy as well as mercy. "Do you hear me?!" He thrust the scythe forward, and a jet made of nothing but pure electricity shot out. Hitting the target squarely in the chest.

The being fell over onto its side and from its ruined remains, a thick liquid began to glide effortlessly along the floor towards Abel, as he continued to hover several feet up above the ground. He wasted no time before he attacked again, his motions packed with all of the residual rage that had been left behind in the aftermath of Lilith's death. My heart broke for him as he swung out with the skeletal red scythe for a second time. As another intruder died and fell apart into two separate pieces, the liquid that I had noticed earlier, and now understood to be blood, began to ascend up in the air and was immediately being drawn to the tips of Abel's black wings. As the blood was absorbed into the jet black feathers, he continued to scream out in anguish. And with every tortured utterance he made, the electricity that flowed in between his wings began to expand. Slowly consuming the rest of his body within its bright, pulsating light.

While I witnessed the sheer carnage occurring before me, I couldn't help but to simply stare in awe as Abel took out his enemies, one right after the other. He continued to fight with everything that he had in him until the only ones left intact in the room were him, Lilith and myself. Yet when he had finished, he let out a final roar. Releasing into the world any excessive voltage of electricity that he had accumulated within his body during the battle.

Gliding back down to the stone floor below, his burning red eyes glued onto the place where Lilith rested, Abel solemnly whispered to her, despite the fact that she could no longer hear his words. His voice remaining warped beyond all recognition. "I will protect the humans. Even though I know that I am to be eternally damned, and that I cannot be forgiven for my sins, I will act as though I can be. Lilith..." As he knelt back down next to what was to become the fourth Crusnik's coffin, Abel gently took hold of the hatch door. Tears that looked to be made of blood fell onto his ashen cheeks. As he slowly began to shut the craft's door, he spoke once more. "Lilith, I will do whatever I need to so that I can keep my promise to you. From this day forward...I will no longer needlessly kill anyone. I will only kill so that I can protect those who are around me." Finally, he sealed the door shut and placing his hand on top of the glass window, he glanced through its reflective surface. Taking one final look at Lilith's face.

After he'd seen all that he could take, he quietly got back to his feet. The remnants of the Crusnik steadily fading away from his features. Eventually he started to walk in my direction, but as he moved, he kept his gaze aimed down to the floor. As he passed me by without even seeing me, he whispered just one last thing for his fallen friend to know. "I will work towards bringing about a brighter hope for tomorrow. I swear it..." The moment that the words had been said, he took off. Fleeing away from everything that was lying in wait behind him.

I wanted to call out to him. To tell him that everything would be all right. That everything he had promised to Lilith had come true. But opening my mouth, I found that I no longer had a voice in which to speak with. Then watching as the world around me drained away, I woke up, laying on top of the mattress on my back. With a start, I sat up, turning to look out of the window that was next to the bed, and I saw that the sun was already setting. Which meant that yet another day was coming to an end. Hurrying to my feet, I bolted for the room's closed door and twisting the handle, opened it. I had to see for myself that the Abel I knew was okay. I needed to know that he wasn't punishing himself for his past mistakes. And as I sprinted from hall to hall, I sighed in relief when I found myself standing in the entrance way of the room I had left him in just hours before.

He was still there.

Sitting in his chair with a small leather bound book held in his hands, Abel had his eyes closed, and his head gently rested up against the chair's plush backing. As he slept, his body would occasionally twitch lightly, but there was no way for me to know just what it was that he was dreaming about.

Slowly I walked over towards Father Nightroad, a compassionate smile falling upon my lips as I looked at him. Then when i was close enough, I knelt down on my knees, taking the book that he held from his hands. Quietly setting it on the small table that was next to his seat. Without the book, he began to clench his hands up into tight fists, and lightly touching one of my hands to his, I whispered. My voice just barely loud enough for him to hear. "It's okay, Father. Don't worry, I'm right here."

At the sound of my voice, he immediately began to relax his body, and as he took a slow, deep breath, he smiled. Mumbling out loud from within his sleep. "Lilith, I hope I haven't let you down..."

I shook my head, knowing that he couldn't see what I was doing. Yet I decided to tell him what I had wanted to say to him inside of my dream. Hoping that it would be enough to ease his mind. "Of course you haven't. You've done so much to help those who are around you."

His smile grew in size, and as he shifted into a more comfortable position, he continued to sleep. But before he became too submerged into his slumber, he said. "Thank you."

With a quiet laugh, I responded with the only thing that I could think of to say. "You're welcome, Abel."


	16. An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 16: An Unexpected Meeting

While Abel continued to rest peacefully in his seat, I decided to spend my time looking out of one of the room's windows. Watching as thin wisps of clouds drifted by. Every so often, I would occasionally break my sight away from the night sky as we soared through it, virtually remaining untouched, but it was only so that I could shift my gaze over towards the unusually kind, silver-haired priest. In my mind's inner most eye, I went back to the first moment that I had met him. An occurrence which was happening a lot more frequently as time went by. I could see him kneeling down in front of me, making it so that our eyes were on level with each other's. Then as he gave the first of many sincere smiles that were aimed for me to see, he introduced himself to me. _"My name is Father Abel Nightroad, may I ask what your name is?"_

Diverting my vision away from Abel, I turned back to face the window, resuming my surveillance of the darkness that the Iron Maiden effortlessly swam through. As I stared through the clear surface, I caught a glimpse of my own eyes. The yellowness within them becoming far more pronounced. My newly reborn body was obviously still going through changes. The idea that I was actually a Methuselah persisted to amaze me, yet at the same time, it felt completely natural to me. Being a Methuselah meant that I could accomplish so much in my life. I wasn't entirely sure about how long I would live, but I knew that those who were the Children of the Night were considered as the long-lived race. Which hopefully gave me plenty of time to do what I had to.

Veering my scrutiny over to the blurred image of Abel as he took in deep, slow breaths, I moved closer to his reflection. The sheen of the soft lighting in the room gently refracted on the glossy surface, and cast off miniature rainbows from within the window itself. The sight was truly beautiful to behold. But as I continued to look past the tiny rainbows, I intently examined Father Nightroad's reflection. Memories of all that had ever been rising up in my thoughts. _"But Father Abel's human...just like I am. But unlike me, he gives others a hope to believe in. A hope that's like no other."_ This had been a statement that rang true for me even all the way back then, and I felt as though it always would.

No matter what it was that he was doing, the man who had saved me. The man who had started off as being my lonely savior. The man who was now my tovarish, he always attempted to give his everything to those of whom he cared the most about. Always making sure they knew that they were never alone in this world. _"I won't stand by idly while that precious gift is obliterated!"_ My already kind gaze somehow managed to become even softer. The last thing that Abel had said in my most recent dream, echoing within my recollections. _"I will work towards bringing about a brighter hope for tomorrow. I swear it..."_

Blinking my eyes as I tried to clear away the watery filter that had begun to obstruct my vision, I sighed. "Father..." As a tear trailed down my pale cheek, I worked my way backwards in time. Mentally going back to when I had only been a young child. To when I had been Terran. I could hear the quiet sound of my mother listening to one of the songs that the both of us had loved, and as the music played on, I whispered. My voice coming out as a nearly perfect silence. _"If I could be with you tonight I would sing you to sleep Never let them take the light behind your eyes."_

With another sigh, I finally dropped my line of sight from Abel's reflection, and before I could even manage to do anything else, the ghostly image of a dignified yet kind woman appeared beside me. "Sister Jonah, if you would, I was hoping that I might be spared a few moments of your time." It was Sister Kate, the nun who was in charge of steering the Iron Maiden.

Turning to directly look at the kind Sister, I gave a tiny nod of my head. "Of course, Sister Kate. And besides..." I indicated towards Abel's direction with my eyes, and giggled. "Father Nightroad's resting right now."

Kate smiled, her holographic projection shimmering as she turned to glance over at the sleeping priest. When she saw him sitting fast asleep within his chair, she held up a semi-transparent hand up to her lips, quietly chuckling. "So he is." Lowering her hand, she turned back to address me. "Let us leave Father Abel to sleep for now, since I'd actually like to speak with you in private." As she finished speaking, an automatic steel sliding door opened up to our right, and motioning for me to head into the room beyond, she whispered. "We can talk for a while and to make it up to you for intruding in on your thoughts, I can brew some tea." Sister Kate's body faded away from before my eyes.

Casting Abel another look, I smiled and quietly made a promise to him. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Father." I turned away from him and walked towards the room that Kate had opened up for me. In the room, which was bathed in the warm glow of several lights, Sister Kate stood next to a sturdy wooden table. And the instant that I had fully crossed over the threshold, I heard the steel door shut behind me. "What were you needing to speak with me about, Sister?" With my question, I briefly took notice of a small porcelain teacup that had been set on the table's surface.

Her kind, mother-like eyes looked at the tea. "Please, sit down and relax." As I moved over to take a seat at the table, Kate continued to speak. "I was hoping that we could discuss the matter concerning your relationship with Abel."

I felt as the temperature of my face increased, and carefully holding the teacup within my hands, I tried to keep my voice as even as possible while I asked. "My relationship with Father Nightroad?"

"Yes." She watched as I took a sip of the tea. "I hope that you don't mind, it's just that I've never seen him trust someone so much before. He always tries to hide the truth from those around him. Wearing fake smiles to help mask the sadness that he really feels." Gracefully, she folded her hands on top of her stomach. "I'm just simply amazed that you've managed to gain his trust as quickly as you have."

Peering down at the table, I nod my head. "To be honest, I'm glad that he trusts me." The gentle warmth of the teacup felt good as I held it against the palm of my hand. "It might just be that he feels obligated to be kind to me since he pulled me away from my previous life. Or it might be that, in a way, he feels we're the same." I smiled, a happiness taking over my senses. "In a warped kind of way...it's funny. Here we are being this close of friends and in reality, if you were to stop and think...we're predator and prey. But I don't mind that though." As I took another sip of tea, Kate listened to what I had to say. Her expression was one of genuine interest. Then gently setting the teacup back down on the table, I looked over at the translucent nun. "Sister...can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Taken aback by my question, she replied after a moment had gone by. "Of course you can. What's on your mind, Sister Jonah?"

With a quiet exhale, I began to confide to her. "Lately, I've been having these...dreams."

"Dreams?"

I could tell that she was feeling confused by the topic, but I nod my head. "Dreams that have been revolving around Father Nightroad." Looking away, I chose to glance at the patterns that appeared on the table's surface."The first one was just pretty random, but when I told Abel about it, he reacted in a way that, up until now, I didn't even bother to think twice about."

Kate was silent for a second, then she quietly asked. "How was it that he reacted?"

"His eyes grew wide. As if what I had told him...had shocked him in a way. Then a few hours ago, while I was resting, I had another dream." Closing my eyelids, I pictured Abel within my mind as he fought to protect Lilith's corpse. I could easily recall the cries he let out as he was being plagued by so much emotional distress. As I relived it all, I couldn't help but to quietly whisper. "Oh, Father..." Finally reopening my eyes, I began to explain what I had seen to Kate. "I saw Abel fighting. I think that he was fighting against Methuselah because he transformed into the Crusnik. He..." I considered my words for a moment, feeling as though I were betraying Father Nightroad's trust by telling someone that wasn't him about my dream first. But with a deep sigh, I continued on. "Sister Kate, are you aware of who Lilith was?"

Very quietly, I heard her respond. "I don't know all of the specifics, but I've been told that she was someone whom Abel truly admired."

It comforted my heart hearing Kate say that she was, at the very least, familiar with the fourth Crusnik's name. "Well in my dream, Abel was fighting so that he could defend her remains. I dreamt of the day that he made his promise to her." As I said this, I slowly started to come to a conclusion. "I think...I think that I dreamt of Abel from over ten years ago."

Sister Kate abruptly turned away from me, and it was several minutes before any other words were spoken. "Jonah, please take a look at this and tell me if this is close to what you saw."

In front of me, a holographic image appeared, and looking at it closely I immediately could tell that it was a picture of Abel and a young girl. They were out in a field of grass and the girl, who wore the Vatican's white and blue habit, was setting a flower crown on top of Abel's head. Just like in my dream, he was wearing a uniform which also happened to be white and blue, the edge of a loose fitting black turtleneck was barely visible beneath of the long white jacket. Nodding my head, I exclaimed excitedly. "That's it! That's exactly what he was wearing! Sister, when was this picture taken?"

She released a slow breath. "It's just as you said, you dreamt of an event that happened a decade ago. Jonah, it's possible that..." Kate's words fell away, and as she worked to organize her thoughts, I watched as she gently tapped her fingertips together. "Jonah, this might be a long shot, but I think that you've discovered what your ability is not only as an agent, but also as a Methuselah."

"My ability?"

Suddenly, I could hear Abel's voice in my head and I remembered what it was that he had told me about the ability that I would have. _"I feel that you have an ability, one all of your own. You just haven't discovered it yet."_ Since that moment, I hadn't really thought about trying to put any effort into discovering what my ability was...not until Sister Kate brought it up.

"It's a pretty unusual ability called dream walking. Not much is really known about it. So I can't exactly tell you how it works. All I can say is that you're possibly walking into Abel's dreams while you're both asleep." As Kate explained to me the few details that she knew concerning the ability, I listened. My full attention grasped so tightly, that I felt it would be painful to try and look away. "Studies have theorized that the stronger the bond is between the person with the ability and the person who is having the dream, the more frequently the dream walker might appear."

To me, it was beginning to feel as though I might never be given a break. Between dying in Abel's arms, then waking up as a Methuselah, from having bizarre dreams and then learning that I might be a dream walker...everything just seemed to be happening all at once.

Patient as a Saint, Kate waited next to me. Her soothing voice whispering. "I completely understand that it's a lot to digest all at one time, so please. Feel free to take a minute so that you can allow it to sink in."

I shook my head. "There's no need. I think that I get it." Leaning back in my seat, I felt the hard backing of the chair gently press up against my spine and sighing, I asked. "What am I going to do? Father Nightroad will eventually start to notice it if I'm showing up within his dreams. Sister...what should I tell him?" I began to grow anxious, but then I remembered something that Abel had said to me the first time that I might have dream walked.

Feeling Abel's hand on the back of my neck, I could see him in my memories. His voice ringing with a clear resonance, and I thought for a second that he were actually speaking into my ear at that very moment. _"Jonah, there's been something that I've been meaning to tell you."_ Resisting against the urge to look all around me, I continued to hear his soft tone. _"You can't possibly deny the fact that from the moment that you and I met, there's been an incredibly strong connection between us."_ As the reminiscent moment played back in my mind, I remembered the way that he had began to draw himself closer to me.

Again I asked, my eyes held open wide in fear. "What could I possibly tell him?"

Kate held her index finger to her milky white skin, gently tapping it against her chin, her trademark Albion colored eyes turned up towards the ceiling of the airship. "Well it only makes sense for you to just tell him the truth. Like I told you earlier, I've never seen him hold as much reliance in another person in all of the time that I've known him." The holographic projection shimmered briefly. "I don't mean to say that he doesn't have any faith in the other A.X. operatives, it's just that...it might be as you put it earlier. Since the very beginning, Abel could have picked up on the fact that the two of you were as similar to one another as you've actually ended up being."

"So I...should just tell him the truth?" The size of my eyes returned to normal, and I imagined Abel sitting out in the room beyond the automatic steel door, still sleeping peacefully. Having dreams that, at the moment, I couldn't invade.

Slowly she nod her head, closing her eyes and smiling in the process. "That's right. I feel that Abel would much rather prefer it if you were up front with him about the entire scenario. Then once you've told him, it'll be up to the two of you to come up with a solution. If that is the course you wish to take."

I completely understood what it was that Kate was saying to me. If I kept this information to myself, I would be acting selfishly. "You're absolutely right, Sister. I'll be sure to discuss it all with him once we're in the Empire."

With a mild look of surprise, Kate took a sharp intake of breath. "Oh no! How could I be so careless? Jonah, if you plan on getting some rest before we land, I suggest that you go and get some now. Oh, I hadn't realized that it was already that late!"

Glancing over at the clock by the door, I saw that the time was well past midnight and getting to my feet, I smiled at the now semi-frantic nun. "Please don't worry about it, Kate. But if it will make you feel better, I'll try and catch a few more hours of sleep before we get there." As I walked away from Kate, I stretched out my limbs. "Thank you for taking the time and talking with me, I really appreciate it."

She gave a small bow and the evanescent hologram faded from existence. Leaving me once again all by myself.

Nearing the steel door, it opened up and I could see that Abel was still dozing undisturbed in his chair. The expression that he wore seemed to have remained serene during my brief absence. Which to me was an indication that he was having good dreams. When I stood just a few feet away from him, I smiled and quietly spoke. "See? I told you that I'd be back as soon as I could." Closing the gap that existed between us, I strode over to the plush chair that I had been sitting in before Father Nightroad suggested that I leave to go and rest. And as I took my seat, another sudden wave of exhaustion began to wash over me. Everything that was around me became bleary as my vision started to lose its focus. _"This isn't right...what's going on...I honestly should not be this tired..."_ As I lowered my eyelids, as though they were heavy like theatrical curtains, I tried my absolute best to resist against the weariness that was quickly building up within me.

However, no matter how hard I struggled to fight it, this was simply a battle that I just couldn't win. The minute that I came understand this fact, I gave into its demand. Plunging deep into the realms of sleep once more.

The amount of time that had gone by before I heard Abel's voice calling out to me, was unknown. But as I felt his gentle hand on my shoulder and with his kind voice in my ear, I slowly began to stir. "Jonah? Jonah, come on, it's time to wake up. Sister Kate has just informed me that the Iron Maiden will be landing somewhere along the East Bank within the next ten minutes. So we really do need to hurry."

"Father?" With my eyes open, I looked up and saw Father Nightroad's smiling face gazing down at me. Feeling as though I were trapped inside of a stupor, I asked. "Where are we?"

A look of sheer concern spread across his face. "The Empire, where else would we be? Jonah, are you sure that you're okay? Because..." He took a closer inspection of my appearance and frowned. "Now that I think about it...you are looking a bit pale." Sighing, he muttered out loud more to himself than to me. "Maybe I should just have Kate take you back with her to the Vatican..."

While Abel was in the process of turning to look away from me, I shot up straight in my chair and excitedly cried out. "No! I'm fine, Father! Really I am! I-" When I came to a standstill, I found that my face was only a couple of inches away from Father Nightroad's. As I felt my face growing red, I made the decision to pull back away from him slightly. "Forgive me. But trust me when I say that I'm fine." To help cover up my embarrassment that had been caused by my own impetuous actions, I gave him my most carefree smile.

As my face flushed, so did Abel's. A look of undiluted shock fell upon him, but gradually, the shock that he wore began to dissipate away and was replaced with relief. "Well if that's the case." He extended out his hand for me and reaching out, I lightly took his hand in my own. With a single, swift motion, he was able to fluently hoist me up to my feet. Grinning broadly, he kept a loose grip on my hand. "If you're ready, we should go on ahead and make our way towards the Iron Maiden's main exit."

Silent, I nod my head in agreement. And with Abel leading the way, I followed after him, my focus periodically straying over to his hand as he gently held onto mine. I wanted to ask him about it, I wanted to give his hand a tender squeeze, I wanted to intertwine my fingers with his, yet...I chose not to. There was absolutely zero evidence that actually pointed towards the conclusion that I was a dream walker. Nothing existed that could confirm that I had been witnessing Abel's dreams as if they had been my own. As I looked away, I knew that it wouldn't be right if I were to just simply make the assumption regarding how it was that Abel felt about me. I couldn't do anything at all, but wait...wait for the right time to talk about it in full with him.

Within a matter of minutes, we had worked our way through the small network of hallways and we found ourselves standing in the barren cargo bay located in the lower levels of the airship. The lights that had been hung from the ceiling gently began to oscillate as we finally landed within the Empire. Seconds later, a ramp leading to the ground down below started to descend, and next to the exit, Sister Kate's holographic projection appeared. The expression on her face offered us comfort and with a reassuring smile, she calmly spoke. "I wish the two of you the best of luck out there." As she made the sign of the cross, Kate quietly prayed. "O God, You are the preserver of men, and the keeper of our lives. We commit ourselves to Your perfect care on the journey that awaits us. We pray for a safe and auspicious journey. Give Your angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. Let no evil befall us, nor any harm come to our dwelling that we leave behind. Although we are uncertain of what the days may bring, may we be prepared for any event or delay, and greet such with patience and understanding. Bless us O Lord, that we may complete our journey safely and successfully under Your ever watchful care."

After the prayer was complete, Abel carefully relinquished his hold on my hand, and together we both made the sign of the cross ourselves and in unison, we whispered. "Amen."

Turning to look directly at me, just as the metal ramp that was attached to the Iron Maiden made contact with the airfield's smoothly paved surface, the translucent nun made it a point of reminding me. "Sister Jonah, please don't forget about what it was that we discussed last night."

Casting an indirect glance over towards Abel, I noticed that he had already made it halfway down the ramp but had stopped walking while he was in mid-step, and I saw that he was peeking over his shoulder in my direction. A puzzled countenance had overcome him. But with a smile, I exhaled slowly. "Don't worry. I'll bring it up the moment that the timing is right. Thank you so much for escorting us here." I bowed as gracefully as I could and then hurried off so that I could catch up with Father Nightroad.

The instant that I was within earshot, he asked me. An air of curiosity riding within his tone. "What was all of that about?"

Nonchalantly, I gave him my answer. "Well after I woke up from resting yesterday, Sister Kate reminded me that while we're here, I should take some time and learn what I can about my lineage." Lying to him, I could feel my heart as it ached and as I bit my lip to prevent myself from spilling all of my secrets right then and there, I gently nod my head once.

Abel laughed. "Oh, right! I had nearly forgotten about that myself. It's a good thing that we had Kate with us! She is honestly a lifesaver!"

Our feet his the pavement and turning my gaze up from the ground that I rested beneath of me, I caught my first glimpse of the Empire as it stood tall and majestic ahead of us. As I speechlessly gaped at the landscape, I could hear the ramp that Abel and I had just descended down, begin to retract and lock in place as the Iron Maiden's engines roared into life. Then with a rush of wind, the airship took off and made its way high up into the morning sky.

Meaning that our mission to meet and make contact with the Empress of the beautiful land in front of us, was officially underway.

Next to me, Abel watched as the vessel that had brought us this far, began to leave. I heard him give a lighthearted sigh, and he whispered. "There she goes. Godspeed, Kate."

My words eventually caught up with me, yet as I continued to stare in admiration at the Empire, I implored. "So where do we start, Father?"

Immediately, he stuck his hand in between of his cassock and overcoat, then as he cautiously took hold of an object that I couldn't see, he withdrew his hand. "Prior to our departure from the Vatican, I thought that it might be a wise decision to give you this...that way you would have something that you could properly protect yourself with." In his hand, with its barrel aimed at the ground, he held onto a small stainless steel pistol. "Now, understand that I'm only giving this to you simply as a precaution. I don't actually expect that anything bad should happen to us while we're here, but you can never be too sure." As he spoke, he moved his body so that he was standing behind me and using his free hand, he carefully placed the gun's grip against my palm. Then as he continued to speak, the tone of his voice was suddenly stern. "I know that in the past you've taken a few classes in basic gun training, but Jonah, this is serious. It is just as you said to me yesterday. You're no longer being put through missions that are only to be considered as practice trials. Cardinal Sforza made the judgment call of choosing you to be my partner for this, and I know that she wouldn't have done so if she knew that you weren't capable of completing the task at hand. That's why, I urge that you only resort to using this if you're left with no other option." He kept his hand on the gun, but stepped so that he could look me in the eyes and with a smile, he whispered. "Are you following me, so far?"

Slowly I nod my head as I felt the abrasive texture of the gun's polymer grip pressing against my skin. "I give you my word, Father Nightroad."

His blue eyes sparkled. "Very good. Now go on and hold onto it for just a second, and don't worry. The safety is on...however, never rely only on it and always keep the gun pointed towards the ground. Remember you only ever aim it at someone if you intend to shoot." As I gently gripped onto the weapon's handle, Abel stuck his hand back into one of his many pockets, and rummaging around for a while, he gradually began to smile just as he pulled out a nylon holster. "Alright so...I'm just going to fasten this around your waist, which should give you an easy enough access to it." He knelt down, with the holster in hand and as he slipped it around me above my hips, he casually started to explain to me. "This pistol in particular is a semi-automatic. It's got a caliber of 9 mm and it holds a total of thirteen rounds. So right now, there's already a round inside of the chamber. While the remaining twelve are in the magazine." Standing in place, it was a minute before he had finally gotten the gun's carrying case secured around me, but when he finished, he declared as he got back up to his feet. "And done! You can go ahead and affix it into the holster."

I did as I was instructed and slid the stainless steel firearm into its protective covering, then looking over at him, I smiled. "Thank you, Father."

With a slight wave of his hand, Abel mused serenely. "It wasn't a problem at all, Jonah. I just know that it's extremely important that you be able to protect yourself while we're visiting this foreign country." Placing a calm hand on my shoulder, he ventured to ask. "Now that all of that is said and done, shall we get started? After all, there's no real need to waste any more time than is absolutely necessary."

"Right." As I said this, Father Nightroad bent forward, gesturing with his hands that I should be the first to step into the city that awaited us.

For a while, we simply walked in silence. Navigating our way through several narrow alleyways and down stone staircases, I started to feel lost. Lost within the sheer wonder that anything so perfect could ever possibly exist within the world. As I walked next to Abel, I gently twisted my body from side to side so that I could properly look at the beauty that was considered as the Empire. And finally seeing it for myself, I found that words failed me. The architecture of the buildings that we passed by were unlike anything that I had ever seen before. It was so magnificent that I was beginning to think that it could easily put the Vatican's own appearance to shame. Hundreds of feet up above our heads the protective barrier, that was known as the Lapis Lazuli Wall, worked hard at filtering out the deadly ultraviolet rays from the sun's light. Despite the fact that I knew that it was still very early in the morning, my mind was being tricked into thinking that the time of day had already reached twilight. This illusion, however, was caused by the Wall. "Father, this is...this is absolutely amazing!" With my eyes never leaving the cityscape that surrounded us, I spun on my heel. My habit billowing out behind me as I moved in a quick circle. "Father Nightroad, do you know exactly where we are right now?"

He chuckled at my wonderment and pulled from his pocket a neatly folded map of the region. Then flipping the folded portion of the sheet up, he cheerfully remarked. "As a matter of fact..." Gently tapping the tip of his finger to a section of the map, he offered me an explanation. "It just so happens that luck is truly on our side today. Sister Kate had a map of the Empire's three main districts printed off so that it would be ready and waiting for us before we were even landed. But as for our current location..." Peering over top of his round glasses, he inspected the layout thoroughly. After a moment had gone by, he called out. "Ah ha! So it appears as though we're currently in the section of the Empire that's known as the Anadolu."

Wheeling around, I turned my attention back to Abel. "Anadolu?"

With a gentle motion of his head, he went on to say. "That's right. Although to those who are from the Outer World, like us, it might make it a little easier if we were to just call it the Terran District." His eyes roamed over the map's grid for a while, and I could hear him quietly humming to himself. "For now, however, we're just trying to find our way to the Great Bosporus Bridge." Peeking over at me out of the corner of his eyes, the color of which was vibrant enough that I could still see the frosty hue of them in the shadow of the twilit sky, he smiled. "We might have quite the trek ahead of us, but the great company that I've got should make things all that much better." Briefly looking away, he used his free hand and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

A sheepish grin overtook my face. "Father, stop...you're embarrassing me..." I could hear his soft chortle next to me. Recovering from my emotional lapse, I voiced aloud an idea as it came to me. "Perhaps we should ask for directions? After all, someone who's a citizen here would definitely know their way around a lot better than we would..." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Abel looking incredulously over at me and before he could say anything, I quipped. "Even though we do have a map."

He sighed as a sign of resignation. "I suppose that you're right. Ultimately it was me who said that it's best to not waste anymore time than we really have to. So you win, Jonah." With an unworried grin, Abel carefully refolded the map that he held within his hand. Yet instead of placing it back into the pocket that he'd taken it from, he continued to keep it out, in case we should find a sudden need to consult its contents.

We proceeded to make our way further into the Terran District and for a time, neither one of us saw anything else that was living. With each step we took we passed by towering buildings that had shut doors, trees that swayed gently in the wind and whose leaves were the color of emeralds. There were no cars, no vendors that had set up their portable shops along the sides of the streets. There was nothing other than the stifling silence that hung in the air. "Father Nightroad, where...where is everyone?"

Abel shook his head and using his winter blue eyes, which by this time had grown alert, he scanned everything that was around us. "I'm not really sure about how I should go about answering that question, myself..." The tone of his voice denote a sense of uneasiness to me as he spoke, yet he was obviously striving to maintain his calm while I walked by his side.

Finally as we wandered past a dimly lit alleyway, I caught sight of the subtle movements of a small group of people that were gathered at the far end of the path. Reaching up, I gently grasped at the sleeve of Father Nightroad's vestments and pointing with my free hand, I quietly breathed out. "Look."

Turning his head, my finger acting as a guide for where to look, he smiled when he saw the compact ring as the members all huddled in close to one another. However, unlike me, he spoke with confidence as he began to address me. "Good eye, Jonah!" Slowly I released my hold on his sleeve as Abel made his way closer to the gathering, and waving his hand up above his head, he called out. "Pardon me, but if it isn't too much trouble, might I ask if one of you fine people could direct us to the Great Bosporus Bridge? You see, we're new around here...and unfortunately we don't know our way around just yet...so..."

His words fell away as all of the members of the group turned to face the both of us. The movements that they made were synchronized with each others'. Each of the beings before us had round, blood red eyes, and they were shrouded in the shadows of their black cloaks. And as I stood outside of the entrance to the lane, I froze. Something that I had forgotten about, triggered deep from within my memories. I could hear the sound of snapping, and then I saw them. Three creatures that strongly resembled the things which now stood motionless at the end of the alley. While fear permeated all throughout my body, a hauntingly familiar voice echoed inside of my head. _"They're called Death Hunters and do you want to know what makes them such perfect vessels? Well it's because they are actually reanimated vampire corpses. And they are fully under my control."_

As the realization of what I was looking at hit me, I gasped. The nearly inaudible words that I spoke, coming out in a rush. "Death Hunters..." Rapidly shaking my head from side to side, I drew out my pistol, the hold that I had on it was unbelievably strong. Despite all of my fright. "Father! Get away from them!"

Before I had even said anything, Abel was already slowly retreating away from the monsters. His gaze never once leaving their masked faces as he quietly asked me. "Jonah...why do these guys look familiar?"

With the sights of my weapon set on the closest of the figures, I answered through tightly clenched teeth. "They are the same as those bastards that killed me." Becoming filled with an undiluted rage, I screamed. "Run!" The moment that I had finished issuing my command, I fired the gun that I held in my hand once. Then seeing as the Death Hunters skillfully dodged the bullet that flew in their direction, I hurried to reholster the weapon and willed my legs to run faster than they ever had before. As I started to feel a strong vibration coursing through my extremities, I took a deep breath and sprinted over towards Abel, who had only managed to run just a few feet. While the world before me became a disorienting blur, I tightly wrapped my arms around the fleeing priest's waist and silently pleaded in my thoughts. _"O Lord, give me strength!"_ My speed increased, but I could still hear the sound of the Hunters as they readily pursued us. Their momentum being only slightly less than my own. I knew that I had to go faster, and as I felt every part of my body as it began to burn, I grit my teeth and cried out. "Father! I don't know how much longer I can continue on like this for..."

He yelled something in response but I couldn't catch the words that he had said.

Rounding a corner, I heard the grating sound of steel striking against brick, and risking a backwards glance over my left shoulder I saw that one of the Death Hunters had launched a battle axe in mine and Father Nightroad's direction. As I turned my attention to what was ahead of me, I heard Abel utter a painful groan. With a quick sideways look, I could see that the upper portion of his sleeve had been ripped open and fresh blood had began to seep into the shreaded fibers of his clothing. Witnessing the blood as it flowed without restraint, I felt as my pupils began to dilate. The saliva within my mouth started to build up and my fangs worked their way out of hiding. Two words sounded like alarms from within my thoughts. _"So...thirsty..."_ As I continued to try and outrun our pursuers, I considered what my next action should be. What it was that I should do once I had managed the task of evading them. Yet listening to my own sickening thoughts, I violently shook my head. Forcibly clearing away all of the horrific urges that were beginning to overtake my very being. Then with a swift yet cautious motion, I moved my hand so that my palm was pressing against Abel's wound. He grunted uncomfortably as I tightly cinched the gash with my fingers, but I knew that it had to be done. "I'm sorry, Father! Please just stay with me!" I started to look around, seeking out an escape route leading away from the monsters that persisted on following after us. Finally after what seemed to take an eternity, I saw a ledge that led down to a lower level of the district. Without even stopping to think about how far its fall was, I drew in a deep breath and made a beeline for the ledge. Standing on it only briefly, I called out to Abel as I took a leap of sheer faith. "Hold on!"

All that I could hear was the sound of the wind as it rushed past both Father Nightroad and myself. Free falling, we plummeted through thin air towards the ground that anticipated our arrival at least ten feet below. Before we collided with the pavement, I quickly made the decision to strengthen the hold that I had on Abel. The only thing that I desperately longed for, other than to be extricated from the peril that threatened to engulf us, was for the kind and goofy priest that I clung onto, to be safe. I felt no real concern for my own well being...since I would be just fine so long as, in the end, he were okay. As the soles of my boots struck the sturdy surface, I gathered up the last ounce of strength that I had in my body and threw the both of us into the shadows of an alcove. Hidden, I found that I no longer was able to maintain the grasp that I had on Father Nightroad and as the world reeled around me, I fell to one side. My breathing was labored, my legs screamed as they agonizingly throbbed, the burning that I had felt earlier had gone from being a smoldering flame to a full fledged wild fire.

Next to me, Abel knelt down on one knee and disregarding his own injury, he indecisively hovered his hands over my body, unsure of what it was that he could do for me. "Jonah...I think...I think you did it. We lost them." His voice sounded distant within my ears, but turning my eyes up towards his panic-stricken face, I tried to give him a gentle smile. Only as I made my attempt, I found that I didn't even have the energy left to do that much. As he saw my failed efforts, he placed a cool palm to my cheek. "Don't worry. I'll go and get us some help."

At that very moment, I heard the soft sound of nimble footsteps as someone approached the alcove's only point of entry. Looking up to see if the Death Hunters had followed after us after all, Father Nightroad gasped. A childish, yet feminine voice spoke. Their words bouncing off of the brick walls that surrounded us on all sides. "Still doing your absolute best to cause as much trouble as you can, I see? Oh...you haven't changed." The person began to laugh impishly.

I heard the faint sound of Abel silently whispering something underneath of his breath. His voice remaining so low that I hadn't been able to register what he had said.

They sighed wistfully. "But don't worry. All along I had a sneaking suspicion that it might have been you, Abel."

This time when he spoke, Father Nightroad's voice came out as a desperate plea. "We can discuss this later. I-" He shook his head quickly, and began again. "No...she needs your help!" As he continued to speak to the person standing in the entrance of the alcove, I could hear the things being said growing ever more distant.

And closing my eyes, I finally blacked out.


	17. Honesty

Chapter 17: Honesty

From within the darkness, muted lights flitted in front of my closed eyelids, and I could hear the quiet chatter of birds drifting in through a window that had been left partially cracked open. A gentle breeze, which smelled of the ocean, swept across the back of my hand. Wherever I was, the subtle scent of flowers filled the air. The salty and floral fragrances intermingled and lovingly enveloped me inside of their welcoming comforts. I could feel the soft texture of sheets that had been used to cover my body, and resting under my head was a plush, downy pillow. As I slowly became more alert, I started to hear hushed whispers. A conversation that was going back and forth rapidly between the people who were speaking, yet I couldn't hear the details of what it was that they were discussing. But as I attempted to move my hand up to my eyes, I was forced to stop. All through my limbs a shooting pain radiated, leaving no part of my body untouched. From the shock of the pain, I cried out but even doing that much was more than just a little excruciating.

Next to me, one of the hushed whispers became crystal clear. "Don't move! Or, at least, if you feel as though you do have to...then try and keep your movements to just the bare minimum, okay?" The tone that the person used was caring, however I couldn't help but to feel as though the one who had just spoken was still incredibly young. "But I do have to admit, back there, you were acting kind of carelessly. After all, when was the last time that you fed?" The more that I listened to the person's voice, the more I realized that I had heard it before. And when I didn't answer their question, they sighed and gave another attempt to rouse a response out of me. "Hello? Are you even alive over there? Oh! Let me take a guess...being with him has truly made you blind to everything else that's around you?" They giggled gleefully.

Finally I decided to open my eyes and glancing around, I saw the smoothed surface of a white ceiling up above me. Then forcing the wary muscles in my neck to work, I turned my head carefully to the right. Sitting fervently in a chair I saw a young girl. Her outward appearance suggested that she might have possibly been around the age of twelve. Short black hair, that had been styled so that it spiked out to look both messy and orderly at the same time, framed her pale face. Her large, youthful eyes, which were the exact color of jades, watched over me. The smile that she wore, seemed to be so very familiar in my mind, yet I couldn't immediately place where I had seen it before.

The size of her smile increased as she saw me turn to face her. "Oh! So you are awake! That's good to know...I would just hate to have to be the one to tell him that you had suddenly died while he was in another room. But thankfully you've just spared me of that horrible, horrible experience. I really appreciate it."

I blinked my eyes a few times before I quietly asked. "Who-" As I spoke, my voice came out as a hoarse rasp, and it was only then that I became alarmingly aware of just how parched my throat had grown.

Getting up from her seat, I noticed that the girl was wearing a light orange dress that came down above her knees, on her feet she wore a pair of tan boots and she began to move, I watched as she practically skipped over to a small decorative cupboard that hung on the wall across from where I had been lain. As she opened one of the cupboard's doors, I saw a neat array of bottles that stood in a line all along a shelf inside. With a single lithe motion, she retrieved one of the bottles and held it tenderly in her hand. Aiming a wink in my direction, she took agile steps back over to the side of the bed. The instant that she stood by the chair that had been her seat, she set the bottle down carefully on top of a bedside table. When she had done that, she turned back around and I heard the sound of water as it was being poured into a glass. Facing away from me, she shook her head and said. "I told him that he really was being too devil-may-care in regards to you, so hopefully this will serve as a lesson that had to be learned the hard way for him. But to be honest with you though, I'm thoroughly impressed! It turns out that you're pretty strong-willed. Usually by now the bacillus would have gone absolutely haywire." The girl reached out and gripped the bottle in between two of her slender fingers, and removing the lid, she allowed a part of the bottle's contents to spill out into the palm of her hand. As she set the bottle back on the table, she twirled around. A glass of water held in one hand, while a small crimson tablet rested in the other. "Don't worry about it, though. I'm here to make sure that I fix everything that he's done wrong." I watched as she dropped the tablet into the water, and it was a second before I saw anything happen. At first it was slow, but with time the tablet dissolved and it made the once clear water become a dull ruby red. "I know that it might not look the best, but you'll feel a million times better once you drink it!" At this, she carefully passed the glass over to me.

In my hands, I could see that small bubbles were floating up to the surface of the liquid, giving it the illusion that the drink had been carbonated. Yet the effervescence of the beverage wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. Looking over at the young girl, I saw that she was eagerly motioning for me to go ahead and drink and after taking in a deep calming breath, that's what I did. Lifting the rim of the glass to my lips, I slowly allowed the liquid to flow into my mouth. The taste somehow managed to land somewhere between sweet and bitter, which was confusing to my brain. But as I took another drink, all of the pain and exhaustion that I had felt up until then, began to fade away. Shocked, I peered over at the girl and asked. "What is this stuff?"

She giggled enthusiastically. "Oh that? It's called Aqua Vitae. But we usually just refer to it as Methuselah Life Water."

Forgetting that I was no longer in the Outer World, my eyes grew wide and I quietly whispered. "You mean you're not...you're not afraid of what I am?"

"Afraid?" She rolled her eyes and gently blew a raspberry with her mouth. "As if! You have to remember that this is the Empire! All you really have to do is simply walk out of your front door and you can sometimes see a dozen Methuselah at once."

Whoever this girl was, I couldn't deny the fact that she was a little bizarre and with the glass still being held gently in between my hands, I looked her in the eyes and made a simple request. "Who are you?"

Using a finger, she tapped it softly against her upper chest. "Who? Me? Well..." Her playful voice dragged on as she considered what information she should tell me. A minute passed by and then she sat down on the edge of the bed. The palms of her hands pressing into the plush surface of the mattress. "I'll tell you who I am, but only on one condition. You have to make me the promise that you'll keep it a secret forever."

I was confused by her intriguing desire. "I have to keep your identity...a secret...forever?"

Nodding her head, she turned her jade eyes to look at me. "That's right. Oh, and better yet, let's make that promise a pinkie promise!" She smiled brightly and raised her hand that was closest to me. Making it into an incomplete fist, she kept her little finger extended out for me so that I could fulfill my end of the vow.

My gaze was focused on her delicate appendage as she offered it to me. Then as I smiled in return and removed one of my hands from the side of the glass, I slowly raised it so that it would be on level with the young girl's, I carefully wrapped my pinkie around hers.

With the lifelong promise officially made, the girl exhaled and looked up towards the ceiling, her words eventually coming out as soft as a feather. "My name is Seth."

Hearing her say her name out loud, my eyes grew wide in disbelief and I gasped. "Did...did you just say that your name was Seth?"

She didn't look at me, yet she acknowledged the existence of my question by gently inclining her head.

From my memories, I suddenly remembered something that Father Nightroad had once said to me. It had been the one and only time that he had talked about his family as a whole. _"There I lived with my brother Cain, my sister Seth and the woman that I saw as my mother, Lilith Sahl."_

Taking a deep breath, I tried to steady myself before I began to speak again. "You're Father Nightroad's younger sister, aren't you?"

Immediately Seth raised both of her hands up off the bed and with her palms aimed towards the roof, she passively shrugged her small shoulders. "Oh, you've got me." Out of the corner of her vivid green eyes, she peeked down at me, a mischievous grin spreading across her young face. "So I see that he's already gotten around to telling you about me? That was really sweet of him."

Looking away, I whispered. "Yeah, it was." As I spoke, I casually glanced around the room and noticed that something—or rather someone very important was missing. "Speaking of Father Nightroad...Would it be okay if I were to ask you where he is, Seth?"

She pointed over towards a shut door and I assumed that it had to lead out into the rest of the house. "He's changing his bandage right now, and if I know my brother as well as I feel like I do, he'll probably end up falling asleep." Graceful as a cat, she leapt to her feet and facing away from me, she continued to speak. Her tone becoming compassionate, reminding me so much of a mother who was worried about her precious child. "But if you want my advice, then you should finish drinking your Life Water and rest up as well. You really did put a lot of unnecessary strain on your body today."

With a gentle shake of my head, I smiled. "No, I had to push myself...I couldn't just stand by and let those monsters hurt Father Nightroad. So...no matter what Hell I have to walk through on my own, I will do whatever it is that I have to in order to protect him." As I spoke, I could feel my cheeks burn as they began to flush brightly.

Seth turned around to look at me, a frolicsome expression worn well within her dainty features. "You really do care a lot about him, don't you?"

Exhaling, I silently bobbed my head down once.

Without warning, she leaned in closer to me and quietly whispered in my ear. "That's so good to know, because truth be told, I can tell that he really cares a great deal about you too."

Surprised, I gazed hopefully at her. Then as I spoke, I held my hands together as though I were praying. "Do you really think so?"

As she shot me another wink, she replied. "Oh yeah, since he is my older brother, you can trust my judgment one hundred percent! For as long as I've been alive, I've really only ever seen him care this much about another person just once before. So take some time and chew on that juicy tidbit for a little while." She pulled away from me, her large, round eyes sparkling with happiness. "Now I've got to go and pick up some more medical supplies. Leave it up to Abel to go and get himself hurt. I'll try to be back as soon as I possibly can, but in the meantime, do as I suggested. Okay? Finish your drink, and then rest up." With an enthusiastic wave of her hand, she sped off and made her exit from the room.

Left alone in the cozy room, I quietly laughed to myself and with a slow, content sigh, I whispered. "What an interesting girl Father Nightroad's sister has ended up being. She's got such a boundless supply of energy...I'm feeling tired just from watching her." The reality that I had actually met someone that Abel was related to, started to settle down within the confines of my mind. Seth probably knew him better than all of the A.X. operatives combined...myself included. As I peered down at the remnants of the crimson elixir, I silently considered everything that had happened just since we had arrived in the Empire. My thoughts began to surge as I recounted every single event, one by one. _"First, we encountered the Death Hunters. I wonder what it is that they're doing here...could it be possible that they followed us? Or was it all purely just a coincidence?"_ Lost deep in my contemplations, I brought the rim of the glass back up to my lips and swallowed more of the liquid. Feeling the beverage rush down my throat, I began to regain even more of the energy that I had expended earlier during my hasty escape. Through slightly narrowed eyes, I wondered about how Abel was. _"Despite my best efforts, he still got hurt. I hope that he wasn't wounded too severely...Maybe I should go and see how he's doing?"_ I rapidly finished what was left of the Life Water and gently set the now empty glass on the bedside table. Then with a firm grip on the sheets, I attempted to pull them back. Only when I went to move, I found that my body was still racked with an incredible amount of pain. Almost as soon as I had adopted the idea of going to see Father Nightroad, I gave up on the prospect. Sighing, I sank back down into the mattress, my voice came out as sounding defeated when I spoke. "I guess that the Life Water's not an actual instantaneous cure all in the end...but I'd still like to see him again before the day is over." A gentle smile wormed its way upon my lips and closing my eyes, I dreamily whispered. "At least we can say that we've made it this far, Father."

My sentiment finally spoken, I fell into a light sleep.

Time flew by a lot quicker than I had expected it to and while I continued to lay beneath the bed's covers, I heard the door to my room open and shut. Quiet footsteps started to approach me, yet I didn't look to see who it was that had just entered. It was a minute before I heard the person sigh, which was proceeded by the sound of a chair being repositioned somewhere nearby.

For a while, nothing but silence filled the room and I even began to consider opening my eyes. Not only so that I could appease my own mounting curiosity, but it also so that I could let the other person know that it was okay if they were to speak to me. As I began to open my eyes, I paused as I finally heard words being spoken. "Jonah, I hope that while you're asleep you can still hear me..." It was Father Nightroad, and just from the sound of his voice, I could tell that he was blaming himself for something that he felt he was at fault for. "She was right...and I'm sure that you've met her by now. By her, I mean my sister, Seth...but she told me that I've been too careless with you. Which hasn't been entirely untrue..." He sighed deeply again, and I listened intently to his words. "I've done horrible things in my life. Unforgivable things. Yet you've never once questioned me about my past. You've never doubted any of my motives. All that you've ever really shown me has been nothing been nothing less than true kindness. And personally, I still don't understand it at all." I could hear it as he took a deep breath, then as he continued to speak, his voice gently shook. "I realize that it's a lot to take in...but I just wanted you to know that I-"

At that moment, the door opened up for a second time, but it was Seth who was now walking into the room. She chuckled quietly as she saw Abel, her words being used to goad him on. "How cute! I leave for just a little while and I come back only to find you watching over her like a guardian angel." I heard the sound of paper bags crumpling as they were being set down on a hard surface. Then with a more serious tone, Abel's sister cheerfully addressed him. "You know what, Abel? I'm really glad that you've finally learned how to forgive yourself. As your sister, that alone is enough to make me feel so very proud of you."

Abel exhaled, and without looking up at Seth's youthful face, he shook his head. "What on Earth are you talking about now?"

Annoyed, she quietly exclaimed. "Oh, come on! You know full well what it is that I'm saying! Quit acting so coy, you dolt!"

Again, he shook his head. "Seth, I swear to you...that I really don't know what you're talking about."

She groaned, and I heard the sound of fabric rustling against fabric. "Okay, then let me spell it out for you. Her, Abel! Over there! That girl!"

As he looked over in my direction, Father Nightroad confusedly asked. "Jonah? I don't understand, Seth. What about her?"

"You've made her your lover, haven't you? So not only have you finally wised up and forgiven yourself, but you've also decided to make a Methuselah into your new ladylove. Yet again, I must emphasize just how proud I am of you!" Seth sighed, her tone softening as she continued speaking. "You know that Lilith would be proud of you too, right? Albeit, she would probably have preferred it if you had chosen to be with a Terran, but still...She would be furious with you if she knew just how long you've been by yourself. After all, my dear brother, nine hundred years is a rather excessive amount of time to be spent in mourning."

With a gasp, he dropped his gaze down towards the hardwood flooring beneath of his feet. The words he said coming out as nothing but broken whispers. "Seth, please...don't start."

Finally Seth took a couple of steps closer to Abel, and quietly she pleaded with him. "Abel, please just admit it! You know that it's the truth! I will never expect for you to ever stop loving Lilith, but you need to accept the fact that she's gone now! The way that you've been living your life...tell me, how exactly do you think that she would react, huh? You need to just move forward! Stop dwelling in a past that you can no longer change! Let it all go, and find someone that can give you the strength that you need so that you can live for the future!"

Sighing, he closed his frozen blue eyes. "How can I? Or have you simply forgotten the things that I've done? All of the things that **we've** done!" Slowly he slumped down in his chair and sounding more defeated than ever, said. "You may think that it's time that I move forward, but how do you honestly expect anyone to fall in love a monster? Especially one that has been as damned in life as I have? Trust me, it just won't ever be possible, Seth..."

Releasing a huff of air, the young girl crossed her arms over top of her chest. "Oh, come on, Abel! Okay, I'll tell you what. If you're not going to make her your lover, then I'll simply have to make her mine. There we go, problem instantly solved."

He let out a loud, disapproving sigh and slowly he began to shake his head.

"I'm just kidding. Lighten up." She allowed her arms to fall to her sides and turning serious once more, she calmly explained. "Trust me, my brother. That girl, Jonah, she loves you. You might not be able to see it for yourself. But guess what? I can. I have seen it. The way that she talked about you. The look that she gets on her face when she thinks about you. It's very much the same as it was for Lilith. I can tell."

The words that Seth had said, they were enough to make Abel sit back up straight in his seat. And with his eyes opened wide, he looked at his sister. "What did you just say?" As a brief silence fell, I could tell that he had switched his gaze and was now looking over in my direction. "But Seth, even for a Methuselah...Jonah is still so young. I-" He broke off from what he was going to say and shook his head, clearing away some unwanted thoughts. Yet when a moment had passed, he started to speak again. "I couldn't live with myself if she ever got dragged into any of my own personal problems."

Listening to Father Nightroad, I struggled to resist against the urge to run over to him. To tell him that I didn't care about what he dragged me into. So long as we were together, nothing else in the world could ever possibly matter to me. But as a tear escaped from between my closed eyelids, I felt it glide down the side of my face. My inner most thoughts being the only thing that offered me any form of comfort. _"Even if everything came down to that, then you would be well worth it, Father!"_

Yet, with a weak laugh, he softly tried to deny his sister's every word. "Besides, Seth...I'm sure that you're mistaken. There is no chance that she feels that way about me. So this entire conversation...none of it actually matters."

At her breaking point, Seth sighed in exasperation. "And thus it was with the creation of Abel Knightlord, that the Lord said, 'Make this one an idiot.' Seriously, are you actually that stupid Sometimes you make me wonder if we really are related..." I heard the sound of footsteps and before Abel could leave the room, the young girl innocently asked. "Hey, where are you going?" He didn't respond to her inquiry and without so much as a parting glance in her direction, he left the room. The moment that the room's door had been shut behind her brother, Seth scurried over to stand by the side of the bed. Her sing-song voice calling out my name. "Jonah! Were you able to catch all of that?"

Too afraid to let her know that I had heard every word that had been said, I remained still. Hoping that my facade would be enough to trick her.

However, it wasn't. And as she sighed, she gently began to poke the side of my face with a slender finger. "You know, your acting skills might be good enough to fool my gullible brother. But you will have to try just a little harder to convince me that you're actually sleeping." As she pulled her finger away from my cheek, she giggled.

Slowly I opened my eyes and sat up in the bed, I nervously looked over at Seth. "How long have you known?"

Waving away my question, she rushed on to say. "We don't have the time for that right now." Gently leaning in closer to me, she whispered in my ear. Her voice full of eagerness. "I've got the stage all set up for you. We're going to give him a little bit more time to blow off some steam, but that way when you express your fondness for him, it'll be all that much more heartwarming." I looked away from her briefly, but as she placed her hands on her hips, she scowled. "Oh, come on. Not you too!"

I shook my head, a light blush working its way across both of my cheeks. "No, Seth, you were right."

A tiny smirk replaced her scowl. "I was right about what, Jonah?"

The blush burned brighter, but I forced myself to say the words that I knew that she wanted to hear. "About...about me having feelings for Abel."

She giggled, the sound full of mischievousness. "I knew exactly what you meant, but I just had to hear you say it at least once for myself." Standing up straight as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. The enthusiasm that she felt obviously reaching beyond the point of where it would soon begin to overflow. "You should be well enough rested by now, and your body's had more than an ample amount of time to recover. So if you were interested in doing this tonight, then you'll need to go ahead and get up. I've got quite a few things that I'll need to do to you before you're even remotely ready."

As I set my feet against the cold hardwood floor and stood up, I curiously whispered. "Before I'm ready?"

Nodding her head, she playfully closed an eye. "Yup! I think that it's about time that you confessed your feelings to that idiotic brother of mine."

Just hearing her say this was enough to cause my heart to skip a couple of its beats. "T-tell Father Nightroad about h-how I feel about him?"

"Uh-huh!" Rushing over to me, Seth took hold of my hand and dragged me over to a closet door, which she immediate slid open. "Now let's see, I know that now-a-days he's a priest...but first and foremost he is still a man! So we're going to have to make sure that you're looking a little extra appealing...just for him."

Standing next to Abel's sister, I could feel my face as it began to burn red hot and watched as Seth dove into the small room, inside of which several outfits had been hung up on hangers all along a couple of metal rods.

Piece by piece, she keenly inspected articles of clothing. Occasionally she would toss aside random assortments of clothes. Then with her voice sounding agitated, she whined. "Oh! Where did I put it?"

Cautiously, I looked over Seth's shoulder and dared to ask. "What exactly are you looking fo-"

But before I could even get the rest of my question out, she emerged from the closet and remaining as quiet as possible, cried in triumph. "Found it! Trust me, Jonah! That brother of mine won't be able to resist you if you show up and he sees you wearing this!" As she held something close to her chest, Seth began to turn back around to look at me.

Baffled, all of the worries that I had only just began to feel were answered as soon as I saw what she was clutching onto. "Seth, you don't honestly expect me to wear that...do you?"

She offered the outfit to me and as she held it up, I finally got a clear view of what it looked like. There were two separate pieces to it, but the first thing that I could really see was that it was made from silk. Reaching out, I gently took hold of the shirt's thin fabric and began to run my fingers along its smooth texture. Watching as I carefully touched the ensemble, Seth smiled. "Do you like it?"

Nodding my head, I quietly whispered. "It's quite beautiful." What I had said was the truth. Though I had never really been the type to get caught up in the latest fashion trends, the undeniable fact remained that the clothing before me truly was some of the most beautiful that I had ever seen.

"Well what are you waiting for? Try it on!" With light-footed steps, the girl waltzed over and laid the clothes out on top of the bed. Then turning her jade eyes towards me, she happily beckoned with her hand for me to follow her. As I approached, she indicated that I should face away from her and as I began to feel her nimble fingers undoing the buttons along the back of my A.X. uniform, she whispered. "Can I just be honest with you, Jonah?"

Without a word, I bowed my head down once.

Quickly, she continued to undo the back of the dress, her voice a gentle breeze on my neck when she began to speak again. "You're the very person that Abel needs to have in his life. He would probably try to deny it if I were to be the one to ask him, but you really do remind me of her. And to tell you the truth, I think that he can see it too."

My voice came out as a low breath. "Lilith..."

As she undid the last of the buttons, Seth made a quiet noise in her throat. "So he's actualy talked about her around you? That alone should be enough proof of just how much he cares for you, since Lilith used to be his everything."

Pulling my arms free from the sleeves of my uniform, I allowed it to fall towards the floor and stepping out of the ring that it had formed, I knelt down and gathered it up within my arms. Listening to Father Nightroad's sister speak about Lilith, the woman who had actually ended up being more than just a mother figure to him. Then as I moved over to stand next to Seth, I set my dress on the bed and reaching forward, I took hold of the silk top that belonged with the outfit and began to put it on.

It was light, weighing close to absolutely nothing in my hands and as I gently slipped the shirt over top of my head, Seth filled the silence that had slowly fallen inside of the room. "But it's like I said, I think that you're exactly what he needs in his life. Now I know that I might be wrong about this, but I feel as though you're the one who can maybe mend his broken heart. Not to mention, be the one that will finally lead him out from the darkness that has unfortunately encased him."

Having put the top all of the way on, I stepped into the skirt that had been waiting for me on the bed. "I really do hope that you're right, Seth. Your brother, he's...he's done so much for me." Carefully positioning the skirt so that the ruching on it was facing where it was supposed to be, I smiled. "He saved me on the night that I thought I was going to be my last."

From her hand, Seth produced a long, thin strand of light pink silk and standing in front of me, she skillfully began to weave the fabric through eyelets, that I hadn't even taken any notice of up until that very moment."That sounds like him. Always showing up when you least expect him to. But you know, I think that for your case, it was probably a good thing. Right?" Her movements were fast and before I could answer her question, she started to tie up the loose ends of the pink strip together. Making a perfect bow that rested neatly over top of my chest. When she had finished that, she pulled out a second, wider strip from her pocket. This time, however, instead of being a light pink, it was white and standing up on the ends of her toes, she began to secure it around my neck.

Finally I nod my head, a light blush forming on my cheeks.

As I responded silently, she took a step back. Inspecting her work and obviously feeling pleased with the final product, she beamed up at me. "With that, I do believe that you are ready to go."

With a look of surprise, I glanced down at my body and tried to see what I could of the outfit that I now wore. Straps of white silk held the top in place, a gap that was a few inches wide was in between the stra and the long sleeve of the shirt, which exposed my shoulders. Small synthetic light pink roses had been sewn onto both of the shoulder straps. The bottom hem of the shirt came up and joined together at my waist and at my hips, the skirt gently flared out behind me. As the ruched waistline dipped slightly, it partially revealed my belly button. On the side of the skirt, I noticed that there was another one of the small decorative light pink roses. "Seth, do you really think this will work?" Even as I felt so many doubts start to plague my consciousness, I turned my gaze over to her as she stood in front of me. The expression that she wore herself exuded complete confidence in the plan that she had schemed.

"Of course it will work! After all, you like my brother and my brother likes you. It's painfully obvious that the both of you are just way too shy for your own good and that you would never even try anything on your own. So it's all up to me to push the two of you in the right direction." She watched as I gave a small smile and walking a few steps so that she was behind me, she gave me a gentle push on my back. "But I've done all that I can do, which means that it's your turn to finally take the stage. His room is the very last one at the end of the hall to your left. Now go on, I bet he's waiting for you!" Looking over my shoulder, I caught her in the action of shooting me a wink and as she giggled, Seth whispered. "Oh and I promise that I won't listen."

Mortified, I felt my face begin to burn up. "Se-Seth!" As she giggled again, I turned away from her and slowly made my way over to the door that led out to the hallway. Gripping the door's handle within my hand, I exited the room in silence. A fear gradually began to consume my very being and looking to my left, I saw the door that would take me to Abel's room. Before my eyes, I was suddenly blind to everything—everything except for Father Nightroad. Walking down the hall, as I found myself standing outside of the wooden barrier, I traced my fingers along the face of the door knob. Its surface was smooth and cool to the touch. And as I took a deep breath, I grabbed hold of the thing that would take me to my beloved savior. With a gentle twist of my wrist, I stepped over the threshold.

Inside of the room, I immediately found Abel.

He was fast asleep, lying on his back on top of the bed that had been provided for him by his younger sister. On the outside, he looked as though he were at peace with the world but with each rise and fall of his chest, I began to wonder if he truly knew what peace actually felt like. While he continued to breath slowly, I made the decision to approach the side of the bed and careful, so that I wouldn't wake him up, I sat down by his side. My heart started to race the closer that I got to Abel. Yet as I gazed at his face, I noticed that there were a few strands of his silver-white hair that had gotten stuck to his forehead and with a slightly trembling, hand I reached over. Gently using the tip of my finger to brush the hairs away from his face.

The moment that I came into cantact with his skin, he began to stir.

Blushing, I found that it was easy to smile and resting the palm of my hand to his cheek, I quietly whispered. "Father Nightroad, I don't know where I would be right now if you hadn't shown up in my life when you did. Because believe me, I don't want to think about it. If only there were a way for you to know just how much you really mean to me. I hope that you trust me when I say that you truly mean more to me than anyone else that I've ever met. It was on that first night that I felt it. That I had a connection to you. At the time, I didn't understand it, but that's only because if I had understood everything all at once, then..." I smiled and shook my head softly. "What I guess I'm trying to say is that the process of understanding has only made this journey of ours all that much more special to me. You've shown me so much kindness. And then when I saw the Crusnik, though I know that I should, I've never been afraid of it. Even now that I know just what I am. Father, I-" As my cheeks flushed a bit brighter, I sighed and choosing not to think too much about my actions, I gently began to caress the side of his face with my thumb. "The truth is that I just can't help myself. I can't stop my heart from calling out to you anymore. Father Nightroad, I-"

Before I could say anything else, Abel slowly opened his winter blue eyes. Both of which immediately became filled with shock as he looked up and saw me. "Jonah?"

Unable to keep my focus on him, I shifted my gaze down to the tan sheets that were on the bed. And quickly pulling my hand away from his face, I quietly answered him. "Yes, Father?"

As he sat up on the mattress, he spoke. His voice sounding completely unsure of the response that he was going to receive. "Are you feeling ill again? If you would like, I can go and make you some more of the Methuselah Life Water."

I shook my head. "No, that's okay. I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me though."

With a kind smile, I heard him softly chuckle. "That's such a relief to hear. But, Jonah..." He knit his eyebrows together, his voice remaining as even as he could manage. "If you don't mind, might I ask what you were doing?"

Finally, I returned my gaze towards his direction. As I began to speak, my face flushed hot as a burning fire. "Father, I overheard the conversation that you had with Seth earlier."

It was now his turn to be the one to look away from me. But when he spoke, I could hear the underlying disheartened tone that was in his voice. "You...you did?"

Gathering a breath of air deep into my lungs, I decided to leave the rest up to fate and without looking back, I took the plunge. "Yeah. But Father, the truth is...Seth was right."

Surprised, he let out an audible gasp and looked back over at me. A visible pinkness quickly spreading over the bridge of his nose.

I slowly started to move closer to Abel, my heart wildly pounding from within my chest cavity. "I...I have...feelings for you." Again, with a trembling hand, I attempted to reach out towards him.

Father Nightroad began to blush deeply as he became frozen in place. His eyes following my movements as I drew nearer to where he sat.

Carefully, I rested my hand on Abel's chest and feeling his racing heart beneath of my palm, I smiled. "Father..." Lifting my green-yellow eyes until they met with his, I could see him swallowing nervously. "What about you, Father? Would it be all right if I were to ask for you to answer this: how do you really feel about me?"

For a moment, he considered what he should say, all the while my hand continued to feel the rapid beats of his heart. The sensation of which reminded me of the fluttering of a butterfly's wings. "I-" His voice came out as an unsteady tremble. Then with a calming breath, he raised up one of his hands and placed it on top of mine. "I...think that should be enough to answer your question." He began to smile shyly.

Even though Seth had already told me about her brother's feelings for me, I was still shocked to find out that it were actually true. With a quiet gasp, I felt my body begin to gently shake and inching towards him, I whispered out his name. "Father Nightroad." As the seconds passed, my need to just be close to him grew stronger.

Abel blushed, then removed his hand from mine and reaching out, gently wrapped his arms around me. Pulling me in closer to him. Though it was what I had wanted, I realized that I was nearer to him than I'd ever been before. I blushed brightly and looked up towards his face. Gazing up at him, his arms began to tremble worse than my own, then with the shock of what he'd just done finally hitting him, he nervously asked. "Did I...did I really just do that?"

Silently, I nod my head.

Both of his cheeks burned a bright shade of red. "Oh...uh...well then." As he continued to tremble, he laughed anxiously.

With my ear nearly pressed against the left side of his chest, I listened closely. Hearing the sound of his heartbeat, I happily whispered. "I...I can hear your heart." Sighing, my emotions finally becoming content, I gently nuzzled my face into the fabric of the black and gray cassock that covered his chest.

Confused, I felt the gently rumble of Abel's words as he asked me. "I'm sorry?"

"I hear the sound of your heart beating. It's a truly wonderful sound." Leaning in a little closer, a smile took over my face and I quietly told him exactly what was on my mind. "I'm so thankful that you are alive, Father."

When he heard me say this, his heart began to beat even quicker, which made me giggle with joy. Then quietly clearing his throat, I heard Abel's voice in my ear. "May I...may I listen to the sound of your heart, Jonah?"

Slowly pulling myself away from him, I nod my head and using my knees, I steadied myself on the bed's soft surface.

Making sure to be gentle, Abel placed his hands on my back to help further prevent me from falling and leaning down towards me, he pressed his ear against my body, just a few inches below my collar bone. A vibrant blush becoming more apparent along his cheeks as he felt my chest rise and fall with every breath that I took, but I could tell that he could hear it. The sound of my heart. "It sounds...beautiful." He kept his ear exactly where it was for a little while longer. Though as he did finally begin to move away, it was only so that he could gaze with his calming eyes, he continued to hold his hands to my back.

My breathing slowed down as our eyes locked. And once again, I found myself instinctually leaning in closer to Father Nightroad. When the distance between the two of us was just an inch, I gently placed my hand back to the side of his face. As he slowly blinked, I could feel his long eyelashes as they playfully began to sweep against the tips of my fingers.

After a long moment had gone by and with my hand still to his cheek, Abel carefully leaned into it. Turning his head, he made slow motions, taking extra precautions just to be sure that his lips slid gently across the palm of my hand.

As I felt his breath soft and warm on my flesh, I found my entire body trembling. In my mind, I tried to remind myself that I was no longer living within a dream. That everything happening between Abel and me at that very moment in time, was all real life. At long last, I had finally awoken from the fantasies that had helped to guide me in realizing just how lucky I was to have met him. Overwhelmed with the sheer amount of happiness that was rapidly swelling up inside of me, I began to smile.

Seeing the smile appear on my face, he returned it and gently kissed my palm. His voice sounding low as he whispered to me. "Jonah, I hope that you know that there is no turning back from this point onward." Again, he kissed the skin beneath his lips. "After all..." Kissing my palm just one final time, he continued to speak. "After all, the well-being of my heart now lies within your hands." Turning to look in my direction, he gave me a shy smile. "So please take care of it for me."

My cheeks flushed a light pink and I nod my head. "I will always do my best to protect it as though it were my very own." Taking a deep breath, I leaned in and with my lips brushing against his ear, I quietly whispered. "But Father Nightroad, in order to make it an even exchange, will you then take mine?" Having said the words, I gently nuzzled up against the side of his face. The feeling of his cheek was smooth to the touch and as I nestled closer to him, he slowly began to wrap his arms around my waist.

Quietly chuckling, Abel finally allowed his heart to step out of the darkness and back into the light. He made me a brand new promise. One that was being created under completely different circumstances than the last vow I had heard him make...his promise to Lilith. "I will guard it with my very life." There was now a fresh hope within his tone and with a soft sigh, he tenderly strengthened the hold that he had on me.

Closing my eyes, I simply let time pause for a second and quietly, I said aloud the truest sentiment that my heart had ever felt in all of my short life. "Thank you, Father."

For a while, Abel and I just sat together in a peaceful quiet. His deceptively strong arms never once moving away from where they rested at my waist. As I looked up towards his face, I saw that he was already peering at me. Through the round lens of the glasses that he wore, his winter blue eyes were fixedly gazing at the spot where I sat. Then as he smiled serenely, I felt him place a hand on top of my head and as he gently stroked my hair, he finally asked me. "Jonah, I hope that it's okay if I bring this up, but how long?" Letting out a slow, content sigh, he went on to continue saying. "How long have you felt like this?"

Tilting my head back, I replied. "To be perfectly honest with you, I only really figured it out just a few days ago." Inhaling deeply, I decided to follow through with the agreement that I had made earlier with Sister Kate. "Father, there's one more thing that I need to be honest with you about."

With a slightly joking tone, Abel playfully teased. "You mean to say that there's actually more than just learning that you've got feelings for me?"

Smiling brightly at him, I whispered, letting him know the only other secret that I kept. "Sister Kate thinks that she knows exactly what my ability is."

Suddenly losing all signs of joking around, he became more serious. "You mean...you've discovered it?"

Slowly nodding my head, I felt Abel lean back so that he could get a clear look at me as I spoke. "Father Nightroad, I need for you to be honest with me. When I told you about the dream that I had yesterday, the reaction you gave me...you'd seen it, hadn't you? The very thing that I had described?" I closed my eyes and turning to face the priest as he continued to hold onto me tightly, I glanced up at him. "It was your dream that I wandered into, wasn't it?"

He was silent at first, then as he motioned with his head, he quietly asked. "What is it that you're trying to tell me?"

There was no use in trying to prolong that which was now inevitable. "On our way here to the Empire, Sister Kate and I **did** speak. But it wasn't so that she could remind me to take the time and look into my family's lineage. She actually wanted to discuss our relationship." I watched as his expression changed to that of confusion and with a gentle smile, I cleared up any misconceptions that he had. "She wanted to discuss the relationship that exists between you and me, Father Nightroad." By this time, he was intently paying attention to every word that I said. "She told me that she's surprised you trust me as much as you do. Of course I informed her that I'm glad you trust me. After all, we've been through so much just since we met." Taking in a calming breath, I whispered. "It was then that I asked her if she could keep a secret. I told her that...that I've been having dreams that seem to be revolving around you. There was the one that I told you about...although, I left out the fact that you were there and the part where you said, 'All you ever need to do is ask, and I promise that you shall receive'. That was after I had conveyed my feelings to you for the first time. And even if it was only in a dream, that doesn't mean it holds any less amount of the truth than it does right now." Shifting my gaze up towards his face, I saw that he was looking at me with wide eyes. As I saw the shock on his face, I turned away from him. "I guess that there's really no need for me to say anymore, am I right to assume this?"

The words that I heard him say next, came out as a soft whisper. "What are you, Jonah?" It was the same as it had been the day that he found me lying among the shattered ruins that had once been a mirror. He didn't sound frightened, nor disgusted...this time it wasn't even pity that I sensed. It was pure curiosity.

"Sister Kate called it dream walking. Apparently, not much is really known about it. So she couldn't tell me all that much about the ability itself, other than its name. However, she did say that it's theorized that the stronger the bond is between the dream walker, which in this case is me, and the person that's having the dream, which means you, the more often the dream walker will possibly appear within the dream." Finally looking Abel in the eyes, I said. "I saw you make your promise to Lilith, Father Nightroad." As he slowly began to frown, I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek. "In my eyes, you've already fulfilled the oath that you made to her. You have brought about a hope for a brighter tomorrow. Just take a look at everything that you've managed to do. Think about all of the people that you've saved. Including me, Father. Seth was right in saying that Lilith would be proud of you. I know that I am." I gently began to stroke his cheek with my thumb.

Smiling once more, he closed his eyes and spoke. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil...for you are with me." Gradually he placed a tender hand at the base of my neck and moving himself closer, it was then that our lips met for the very first time.


	18. Author's Note

**Author's** **Note**

Greetings everyone! DoctorChurchie here with a bit of house keeping and an update for how the next upcoming weeks will possibly go.

The first thing on the agenda. (Don't be fooled, I don't have an agenda. I'm literally flying by the seat of my pants right now.) But seriously, in the next month my mom will be going into the hospital so that she can have a major operation done, and it's going to be my responsibility to make sure that she doesn't over exert herself while she's in the process of healing. So if you notice that there aren't many updates for this story between the months of May and June, well now you know why.

"Promise of a Lifetime" is one of my favorite stories that I've ever had the creativity to come up with, also I suppose that I could go into some detail and discuss where the story lies within the timeline of story that is actually cannon.

It doesn't. I guess that the best way that I could put it is that it's an alternate timeline? One where Crusnik's still exist. The Methuselah and Terran races are still at war. Where Abel still loved Lilith. And Brother Francessco is still an asshole. (Yes, Brother Francessco and the Inquisition will eventually be making their grand entrance. Eventually.)

With that said, I come to point number two. As of right now, I'm letting my creative energy build itself back up. However, fret not though, here and there I've been writing down ideas for chapter 18. After all, I plan to continue this story for as long as I continue to have new ideas for it and I haven't even began to touch basis on who Jonah's mom and dad are. (Yes, I've already decided who her birth parents are. Trust me, it'll be a surprise and a half!)

So while my creativity grows back, I'm going to be doing another thing that I love so much. Which is shiny hunting in Pokemon. My current hunts/names I'll give to them include: Celebi/Lilith in Crystal, Moltres/Flamin' Hot in Ultra Moon and I have a few miscellaneous hunts in Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Black, Diamond, Sun and Moon. If you're wondering why I've got so many hunts going...well tis the price you pay when you want to get a complete shiny living dex. This has been an ongoing project of mine since 2016, and it all started with a shiny Terrakion that I got on the 5th encounter. Now THAT'S how a shiny hunt should go. Quick and quite legendary. But as of right now, I've got 336 out of 807 shiny Pokemon. That's not including all of the repeats or extras. For real...I have at least 7 shiny Audino...I only needed 1 for the dex.

To think...I used to love Audino. Now whenever I see it I become that one Spongebob meme and say, "AuDiNo." *sighs*

This has ended up being just a rambling post, I apologize. I will also say that this is the very reason why I plan all of my chapters out at least 3 times before I publish them. That way they don't become too overrun with rambling. I honestly blame my ADD.

I should say that I do intend to delete this author's note/rambling/what am I even doing here when I complete chapter 18. Whenever that might be. Hopefully soon.

Until next time.

Seeya.


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